Last September when Black Movie Soundtrack III was nearing its performance date at the Hollywood Bowl, I spoke with Marcus Miller about the challenges of narrowing down the list of songs from black movies that get performed. The bass player gets to put his own setlists together when he and his band take to the stage this week at Catalina Jazz Club for eight shows beginning on Thursday, February 20th.
Miller has performed with some of the true greats in music: Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, George Benson, Elton John, Bryan Ferry, Roberta Flack, Luther Vandross and Wayne Shorter. He is considered one of the finest bass players of his generation.
His most recent album was 2018’s Laid Back which found him collaborating with Trombone Shortly, Take 6, Kirk Whalum and others. If you want to get a great sense of how his bass playing drives a song, check out Hylife from his 2015 recording Afrodeezia.
Miller also composers film scores. Marshall, About Last Night, Think Like a Man and Good Hair are just some of the films he’s scored. As if that isn’t enough, he also hosts a weekly jazz show on Sirius XM.
But first and foremost he is a terrific musician. His ability to traverse multiple styles of music will pretty much guarantee that no two sets amongst these eight this weekend will be the same.
For tickets go here. (Note: Saturday night’s early show is already sold out.)
Photo of Marcus Miller courtesy of the artist’s website.
