Marcus Miller interviewed by Jeff Charney

If you never have heard of Marcus Miller, you should go discover him.

He makes the bass tell a story. Miller has quite the resume. Played, recorded or produced with an extensive amount of musicians including Miles Davis, Elton john, George Benson, Earl Klugh, Freank Sinatra, Dave Grusin, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Michael Franks and many, many more! His 1995 release Tales was nominated for a Grammy. His new CD is called M2 and has Grammy nomination potential. On tour as of this writing (8/5/01) and coming to my home town of Kansas City I was given ten minutes with Marcus before he hoped on a bus from Birmingham to Atlanta.

JC: You have produced or played with so many people and not just jazz guys, but rock guys like Elton John, Pop stars like Dave Mathews even Frank Sinatra. Your spend a lot of time working to help others, but not yourself. How come it is so long between records for you?

MM: Usually I take a couple of years. Between this last one and the one that just came out, M2 , it was a long time. I was doing other things. I got into scoring movies, but also I started a new record label and I built a recording studio. I did a lot of things that took time to set up so that once I started I could really get into it. I'm ready to go now.

JC: You are one of the guys that makes a bass tell a story. How did you get to be playing this kind of music the way that you do it?

MM: I really just try to practice so I can play on the bass the way that I heard it in my head. I grew up listening to some great bass players, Stanley Clarke and Jaco Pastorius who are guys that are really expressive on the bass. I guess I was trying to find my way of doing what these guys have been doing?

JC: A lot of bass players are mostly the back beat of the band. You are like the soloist. The lead man.

MM: I think it's unusual for people to hear a band with a bass player out front. If you haven't heard my music a lot of people approach it kind of suspiciously, saying I don't know if this is going to work. I think we found a way to make it work.

JC: You did indeed. The new CD, M2 is excellent. Grammy material.

MM: Thank you.

JC: You were nominated for a prior CD, Tales. Were you disappointed
that you didn't win?

MM: No, for me really the whole thing is just to stay in there. My music kind of falls in the cracks. Things like Grammy's and awards like that they usually have categories. Best instrumental this and Best Jazz that. My music has R&B in it. It has jazz, it has a lot of different elements. So it's hard for people to decide what category I fall in. Just to be in the game, just to be nominated is great for me.

JC: Do you consider yourself a particular category?

MM: I change it from day to day. I'm in NY and I get in a cab and the guy sees my bass he say's "what kind of music do you play?" One day I'll say jazz, the next day I'll say funk. It depends on my mood.

JC: What was it like to work with Miles Davis?

MM: Working with Miles was one of the highlights of my life. He is somebody who I'd admired all my life. When I began to work with him he had been on hiatus for about seven years. Most of us young musicians figured we'd never get to hear him live. When I got the call that Miles was putting together a band and he wanted me to play it was unbelievable. It was like John Coltrane calling you up and saying "hey I want you to be in the band" and you say "hey I thought you were gone?" It was unbelievable. Once I was with him and working with him I just learned so much. He encouraged me so much, he really pointed people in my direction.

JC: He certainly did. You've got a long list of people that you have played with. Besides Miles who was one the guys that is one of the most influential in your career?

MM: Luther Vandross is very influential. He is a great friend of mine. We met in Roberta Flack's band in the late `70's. He said I want to make my own records so I played on his first demo and he actually become a superstar right in front of my eyes. I saw what it takes to get to the level that he is at, the determination and how many people will tell you that you aren't doing it correctly or that you'll never make it and I learned about what it'll take in terms of perseverance.

JC: That's the key, perseverance?

MM: Yes, but you got to be talented that's the first element. In addition to your talent you have to know what you want to do and you can't let people distract you and discourage you.

JC: Do you like producing more than playing?

MM: I kind of like both because if somebody told me I couldn't play anymore I was just going to be a producer I don't think I'd enjoy that. If I could only play and I couldn't produce I don't know if I'd be into that either, but if I had to make a choice I'd choose playing because that is what I really love to do.

JC: You produce a lot of music and one in particular is a staple of the smooth jazz format. I'm talking about the Bob James/David Sanborn version of "Maputo." I was just recently in Florida and I listened to four different smooth jazz radio stations and each station played that song. Sometimes the format doesn't play you in particular but it plays your music.

MM: It's great to hear. What's funny to me is that songs like "Maputo" that I wrote were specific moods. They were part of a big picture. When I'd write music for people I'd write up tempo, aggressive songs. I'd always write a smooth song that had a nice easy vibe to it. To see a whole format on that one kind of color is really fascinating. It is really amazing like you were saying to drive around the country and turn on the radio and hear that song. It makes me think about guys like Paul McCartney and John Lennon, guys who have written like 50 songs like that, it just makes me think what an incredible feeling for me with just that one song.

JC: Written in the mid 80's right?

MM: It sure was.

JC: Here it is 2001, we are talking 15 years later and your song is still a staple on the radio.

MM: It is really important to write a song that is not connected to a particular trendy style, because when you write really trendy songs you'll be lucky if they get played 15 years later, but if you write a
song just from your heart and it's a beautiful melody that has a chance of becoming a classic.

JC: Give me a synopsis of the latest CD M2.

MM: M2 is where I hear contemporary jazz going. It's got a hard edge on some of the songs and is pretty funky , but it also has some beautiful melodies . I took some classic jazz songs by John Coltrane and Charle Mingus and I updated them to the way I hear music going these days. I'm pretty proud of it. I have some cool guests like Herbie Hancock and Chaka Khan and Raphael Saddiq. I'm pretty excited about it.

JC: Are these guys on tour with you?

MM: No they are all out with there own bands. It's summertime and everybody puts a band together and goes and brings their music to people, but I was just glad to get them on the album.

JC: Any surprise guests in your band?

MM: I have a guy who is a trumpeter who is fantastic. We are working on an album for him now that will be out at the beginning of next year. His name is Michael "Patches" Stewart..

JC: I knew that you were going to say him. He's a bomb..

MM: Yeah he is a great horn player. I'm excited for people to hear him.

JC: Before I let you go you need to tell me about the Billy Cobham song "Red Baron." I just love it.

MM: When I first started playing the bass one of the songs I really loved was Red Barron. There was a couple of songs that were really funky jazz songs like Grover Washington's "Mr. Magic" and "Red Baron" was another one. When I was doing M2 I said "you know I want to do something funky" and that song just popped into my head. I hadn't played it in about 25 years. So I just copied it from my head. I didn't even go and buy the original CD to remind myself and to make sure I had the right notes. It was off of my head from when I learned it when I was 12. When I saw Billy Cobham in Europe he said "hey man thanks for doing that song." I said "did I get it right?" He said "you got it almost right."

JC: That's amazing that you remembered that since you were 12 years old.

MM: I still haven't listened to the original because I don't want to be confronted with how many notes I got wrong. I'm happy with the way it came out.

Select Solo Disocraphy

Marcus Miller - Warner Brothers (1984)
The Sun Don't Lie - PRA (1993) Buy it now at CDnow!
Tales - PRA (1995) Buy it now at CDnow!
Live & More - GRP/PRA (1998) Buy it now at CDnow!
Suddenly - Import (1998)
Best Of Marcus Miller - Japanese (2000)
M2 - Telarc (2001) Buy it now at CDnow!