Marcus Miller

My second blog on the topic of bassists I want to learn more about will feature none other than the one and only Marcus Miller. As I researched Miller I was amazed at the impact he has had on the music industry, both in his playing and composing. I was especially surprised and impressed with some of the people he played with and for. Frank Sinatra, Elton John, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy and Herbie Hancock are just a few of the names that I came across.



Marcus was born in Brooklyn New York in 1959 and was raised for the most part in Jamaica New York. His family was already into music but his father was a major influence as he was the church organist and choir director. I found it very interesting that he is related to Wynton Kelly. Wynton was a jazz pianist for Miles Davis in the late fifties and early sixties. Around the age of thirteen he was fluent on piano, clarinet, bass guitar and was beginning to compose his own music. A couple of years later he found himself playing bass all over New York City with a variety of bands including flutist Bobby Humphrey and Lonnie Liston Smith who played keyboard. According to allmusic.com “Miller was a fixture as a performer in New York’s jazz clubs before he was even old enough to drive” [1] As he came into adulthood he seemed to be the main man to call in New York as he worked with David Sanborn, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, LL Cool J and many others. In 1981 he joined Miles Davis’ band where he performed with them for two years. In 2001 he was the winner of the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Album of 2001. In his more recent years Miller has turned his focus on film scoring but no matter what he is doing he is always learning and teaching, according to a biography on his website, Miller says "I like to keep things balanced, combining R&B, jazz, funk and movie stuff to help reflect what's happening in our world. I just try to keep challenging myself to continue to grow and get better." [2]
                                                                                       

One of my favorite songs played by Marcus is the old Tower of Power classic "What is Hip". This song features Miller on bass. I chose this song to because I felt it is a good representation of the creativity and style Miller plays with. To my best knowledge this piece appears to be in 4/4 (beats/measure) but it almost gives the "cut time" feel. The song starts out with a simple classic bass grove and quickly moves into an upbeat funk chart. Shortly later the alto sax and drum set come in and continue the funk. In the background I notice what appears to be a keyboard that almost sounds like a church organ. Very cool! Now we move into a solo section for the sax and keyboard with Miller hammering the bass for a funky background. He has a way with slapping the bass that is flat amazing! It give me chills just watching how fast his hands are going all while he is having the time of his life. After a great solo by the sax it is Miller's turn to solo and solo he does! After they finish the solo section they move back into a similar feel to the beginning of the song again. This song makes me wish I could play like that, it looks so soothing!