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Bassist-Producer Marcus Miller’s Live Tribute To Former Collaborator Miles Davis
‘Electric Miles’ is a “wide-ranging exploration of Davis’ bold vision with jazz, rock, funk, hip-hop and electronic fusions.”
Globally acclaimed bassist Marcus Miller and his band will perform two special tributes to his former collaborator, the great Miles Davis, at Jazz at Lincoln Centre in New York later this month. Electric Miles is described as a “wide-ranging exploration of Davis’ bold vision with jazz, rock, funk, hip-hop and electronic fusions.”
The shows will take place at the venue’s Rose Theatre on 29 and 30 March at 8pm each evening, and will be webcast live at jazz.org/live and on Facebook. You can get a flavour of the concerts in this short preview:
Miller played bass on six of Davis’ studio albums and produced and composed the majority of three of them, including 1986’s Grammy-winning Tutu, with Tommy LiPuma. The Electric Miles shows will address an eclectic range of Davis’ work, starting from his first recorded use of electric piano in 1969. Miller’s band for the concerts will feature Brett Williams on keyboards, Alex Han on saxophone, Marquis Hill and Russell Gunn (trumpets), guitarist Vernon Reid, Alex Bailey on drums and Mino Cinelu (percussion)
Miller’s own latest album, the Grammy-nominated Laid Black was released by Blue Note in 2018; he first worked with Davis on the trumpeter’s 1981 release The Man With The Horn. Miller has appeared on more than 500 albums, collaborating with Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross, Frank Sinatra, Herbie Hancock, Dizzy Gillespie and many others.
Miller is coming to Europe for an extensive set of dates in May, which will include a night at London’s Royal Festival Hall on the 26th. He’s also due to go to Switzerland, Spain, France and Germany during the transatlantic visit.
Another Davis-themed concert takes place at Jazz at Lincoln Centre on 23 March. Who Is Miles Davis? is part of the venue’s Jazz for Young People series, which returns with an hour-long narrated show designed to inform audiences about Davis’ life, work, struggles and achievements. It promises an engaging script, live musical performances and crowd participation, with trumpet master Sean Jones serving as host. More information about both events is at the Jazz at Lincoln Centre site.
