| Power (6:03) |
| This is M2 all grown up. Marcus Miller makes his way to the stage through a crowd of cheering fans and proceeds to wield out a much more matured version of his flagship tune 'Power' from his most recent Grammy winning release 'M2: Power & Grace'. In this bigger and heavier rendition of the tune Marcus sets off with a moderately slower tempo of Power to give it the breathing space to emphasize every part of the composition. One senses that every note is intended to be played with more defined purpose and punctuality as it flexes. It's the much wiser Power with a toothpick hanging out the side of its mouth. |
 |
| So What (8:51) |
| Here Marcus introduces us again to the ever dominant spirit of Miles Davis that seems to lurk across his stage when he performs. A classic intro by the band brings us back to a wonderfully innovative period in jazz music pioneered by the signature sounds of Miles Davis in this quintessential jazz standard. After exposing 16 bars of the melody to us in its raw form Marcus then kicks the door in on us with his full blown interpretation of the tune with Patches blasting out a pathway on his horn. Roger Byam then picks up on Patches blazing trail and leads us deeper into the zone on tenor sax with yet even more tasteful direction. As the tune continues to rise with energy and force Dean Brown steps in to inject some attitude on his electric guitar using his infinitely wide palette of sound textures. Bruce Flowers also gets his boots dirty by immersing himself into a full-bodied organ solo before passing it back to Marcus who then adds a touch of nastiness before restoring the classic melody. |
|
| Lonnie's Lament (10:53) |
| With one hand reaching into the future and his other pulling quite consciously on the great legacy of jazz behind him, Marcus continues to bridge his rich knowledge of jazz history in this adaptation of a John Coltrane classic. In this saucy version of Lonnie's Lament Marcus has us bopping to Coltrane's reverent melody using a hardcore groove and then speaks back on the composition with his own enigmatic flare on bass. I know Coltrane must be tapping his foot somewhere. The tune begins to get downright ugly with funk as Marcus displays some incredible bass playing dexterity in a spirited solo. Roger Byam rides on the building intensity with a stunning sax solo full of tasteful content. All the while Poogie whacks you upside the head every now and then on his drums to make sure you're still listening. Towards the tail end of the tune Patches drops some reflective statements into the quieting groove to put everything back in its place. Lonnie's Lament is definitely one of my favorite things. |
|
| Cousin John (10:42) |
| Drummer Poogie Bell does the driving on this tune as he lays down a sophisticated drum pattern with shuffling hi-hats. A soothing electric piano establishes a cushy pad to receive Marcus' bass melody as he takes us further inside of the tune. Dean Brown stretches out first with a bluesy cerebral guitar solo as if he's thinking of a quiet afternoon. Then Marcus takes a solo. Warning: Marcus uses big words in this solo so keep your dictionary handy as he departs us with some unprecedented nasty licks. This ignites Poogie Bell as he screams out in a devastating outburst of raw percussive power making an indelible statement on drums (sounds to me like John must be his cousin...). Dean throws some interesting colors in the background behind Marcus as the tune exhales and quietly walks away. |
|
| Scoop (12:27) |
| Sit back, because Funk simply pours from this up-tempo Miller favorite. This tune is HOT! Here Marcus tells us about Scoop in yet another mind altering way using every inch of his bass in ways that have to be seen to be believed. As he starts cooking on the melody Poogie is steadily turning up the heat on drums knowing full well what is going to happen. Marcus catapults into a scorching solo jammed-up with all the elements of funk. Listen to those beautiful bass tones as Marcus starts master class. As he exits his fiercely explosive solo Roger Byam returns on yet a higher plain with his sax and starts adding his own bottle of hot sauce to the mix, which then gets Patches to salivating. In response, Patches pulls out some of his own New Orleans Cajun pepper with his horn and suddenly everybody in the band starts shouting over some Scoop. |
|
| I Loves You Porgy (9:30) |
| In this George Gershwin classic Marcus seems to be telling us that there may have been a little more going on between Porgy and Bess than we knew. The tune opens with a sumptuous vamp to launch Marcus into the melody where he puts down a passionate, ethereal solo with great support by Dean Brown on acoustic guitar. His bass solo sings out as he plays in a high register falsetto. As Dean solos, the tune begins to gain momentum and takes its own colorful detour flourishing to a peak before it subsides back to Marcus. We are reintroduced to the melody by Marcus as he returns it back to its place in time with a gorgeous horn regression. |
|
| Panther (11:15) |
| With a strong reggae beat driving Panther Marcus clearly leaves us behind as he methodically ventures into uncharted bass territory. He proves once again that his artistic vocabulary on an instrument is just as endless as his writing ability. In this fun and sometimes downright comical performance we are drawn into the parade with this irresistible groove. Bruce Flowers treats us to an appropriate interlude on keys followed by Marcus who reenters with a solo that attacks us with the ferocity of a pit bull. Check out his psychedelic bass jam! While you're dancing, pick out the references to some popular tunes as he builds over a musical landscape. This Panther got dreads. |
|
| 3 Deuces (6:24) |
| There goes my table again! Way too funky is the 3 Deuces theme. The tune, which represents Marcus Miller's personal label '3 Deuces Records', has such a nasty Lean on it that it still tilts my room over when I play it. Here Marcus brilliantly creates a new recipe from all the substantial contributors of the 40's and 50's be-bop era such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Art Tatum, Bud Powell, Ella Fitzgerald and a young aspiring teenager with a horn named Miles Davis among others, and pours it into one incredibly funky cut. The namesake club '3 Deuces' was one of a number of popular New York City night spots like Birdland (named after Charlie 'Bird' Parker), the Orchid, Café Bohemia, the Hickory House and the Onyx Club, most of which were located along 52nd Street, a place where many of the top jazz musicians would perform night after night and make music history. Roger Byam crushes the jam session with a relentless solo on sax and then Marcus gets bass-ugly again as he scats away towards a horn-ripping ending. |
|
| Your Amazing Grace (10:42) |
| Here Marcus shows us that his talent has no bounds across multiple instruments as he pays respect to his source of inspiration. Supported by the priceless voice of the gifted Lalah Hathaway, the two combine to deliver a highly emotional rendition of this extremely popular religious standard. Marcus, although not widely known for his remarkable talent on reeds since childhood, is quite clearly accomplished with a wide variety of instruments. Here he first sets the holistic atmosphere using his bass clarinet by taking the melody to emotionally spirited depths, and then has the remarkable dexterity to transition between his bass guitar and soprano sax to further testify in an awesome display of multi-musicianship. Beautiful exchanges are then traded between Marcus and a determined Roger Byam tenor solo as he contributes to the piece. This tune appears to become more and more emotionally charged with every successive performance. |
|
| Nikki's Groove (5:04) |
| Inspired by the unique character of his young daughter, Marcus interprets her into song. You'll actually hear Nikki's debut into the recording industry on the original M2 track as she 'calls her performance in' to the studio from home. Apparently, by the sound of this composition we can tell that Nikki is quite special and has a pretty good taste for music too... |
|
| When Your Life Was Low (8:16) |
| Lalah Hathaway is simply spectacular in this performance. It only follows reason that she would inherit something wonderful from her legendary father Donny and mother Eulaulah and come to establish her own phenomenal voice to impress the world over. Clearly a confident and assured artistic vocalist, Lalah holds your attention with every creative word and delivers a wonderful and welcome compliment to the band. A moving sax solo by Roger Byam opens up a powerful interlude in the middle of the song with Leroy 'Scooter' Taylor supporting nicely on keyboards. Lalah completes the journey taking it the rest of the way. |
|
| Burning Down The House (6:32) |
| This is Marcus Miller's personal take on David Byrne's popular Talking Heads group of 1980's fame. From their '84 release 'Stop Making Sense' this song was also among the first music videos that helped pioneer the MTV and VH1 craze. Being another fun tune to play, he starts in with a galloping bass line at the head of the song to charge up the jam session and jumps right into its mechanical pulse. Dean also manages to escape from his cage on this tune and wails away with some intensive guitar work as well. As in the original tune, the elephant-like horn stabs add punch to the groove. Nice crisp ending. |
|
| People Make The World Go 'Round (11:08) |
| With a Caribbean twist Marcus masterminds another invigorating cover of a popular classic by the Stylistics and celebrates life with it. Colored by Lalah's versatile vocal tapestry it makes for both an exotic and electric performance that indeed includes all people. The tune starts to huff and puff as the band trades solos between each other to the very end. |
|
| Killing Me Softly (6:44) |
| In one of the most expressive periods of song writing history close friends Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway teamed up to compose some of the most extraordinary and emotionally inspiring music ever created. Among Roberta Flack's most widely known recordings was this selection 'Killing Me Softly'. Marcus and Lalah present the song truthfully to us again as they artistically reflect and improvise on a masterpiece. |
|
| Miles/Marcus Medley - Hannibal, Amandla, Tutu (19:07) |
| How does one attempt to describe Miles in words? Maybe Marcus Miller, one of only a select few, has the rights to try but it would unquestionably have to be conveyed in musical form in the end. To those who truly knew the works of Miles 'Dewey' Davis and were also fortunate enough to share his infectious experience live, he is probably as significant as food and water for life. Very few can claim to be beyond the influence of the great Miles Davis legacy. Here Marcus Miller continues to humble himself as he persistently lights a torch for a great mentor. Wading through a medley of his most impressionable compositions which he wrote for Miles during the 80's, Marcus Miller's music acutely signifies how he has played a major role in fueling Davis' triumphant revival and return to the public stage. For this I can only let the music speak for itself. |
|
|
Mike Coston - 8/31/02
|
