Marcus Miller – Renaissance (2012)

After last years fabulous “Tutu Revisited”, the bass-killer Marcus Miller (age 53) are back with “Renaissance”, 13 tracks of groovy Jazz and bass slappin’ where hard and smooth parts are merged into one as not too many musicians are capable to do. The shade of Miles Davis are constant and discretely present all over, but this is definitively and unmistakably Marcus Miller. Although “Renaissance” is – surprisingly – only his eighth studio project since his 1983 debut, “Suddenly”, Miller spent approximately 15 years performing as a sideman or session musician and he has played bass on over 500 recording on albums across different musical styles from Rock (Donald Fagen and Eric Clapton), to Jazz (George Benson, Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Sample, Wayne Shorter and Grover Washington, Jr.), Pop (Roberta Flack, Paul Simon and Mariah Carey), R&B (Aretha Franklin and Chaka Khan), Hip Hop (Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg), blues (Z.Z. Hill), New Wave (Billy Idol), Smooth Jazz (Al Jarreau and Dave Koz) and opera (collaborations with tenor Kenn Hicks and soprano Kathleen Battle). Also, as a film music pro, Miller rose from writing the go-go party classic ‘Da Butt’ for Spike Lee’s ‘School Daze’ to becoming the go-to composer for 20+ films (from the documentary 1 Love to the animated children’s fable The Trumpet and The Swan to the Eddie Murphy/Halle Berry classic Boomerang. In the 80’s he had collaborate with Miles Davis on 6 consecutive albums, he produced and wrote wrote “Tutu” for Miles Davis.

Get now an MP3 download of “Jekyll & Hyde” from Marcus Miller’s upcoming album, “Renaissance” HERE.

“Renaissance” featuring: Marcus Miller – bass, fretless bass, bass clarinet, acoustic bass; Louis Cato – drums; Ramon Yslas – percussion; Alex Han – alto sax; Sean Jones – trumpet; Maurice Brown – trumpet; Bobby Sparks – organ; Federico Gonzales Pena – fender rhodes, piano; Kris Bowers – piano, fender rhodes; Adam Agati – guitar; Adam Rogers – guitar, acoustic guitar; Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar; Dr. John – vocals; Gretchen Parlato – vocals and Ruben Blades – vocals.

Tracklist:

01. Detroit 5:45
02. Redemption 6:09
03. February 4:15
04. Slippin’ Into Darkness 9:17
05. Setembro (Brazilian Wedding Song) [feat. Gretchen Parlato & Ruben Blades] 6:38
06. Jekyll & Hyde 6:30
07. Interlude Nocturnal Mist 1:16
08. Revelation 4:46
09. Mr. Clean 5:00
10. Goree (Go-ray) 5:38
11. Cee-Tee-Eye 7:39
12. Tightrope (feat. Dr. John) 5:46
13. I’ll Be There 3:48

From the smooth, South American vibes of “Setembro” to the Jazz Rock Fusion hurricane of “Jekyll & Hyde”, “Renaissance” delivers everything what makes Miller so great, from gentle, meditative moments to groovy, pounding eruptions and build-ups.
“Revelation” and several other tracks as well reminded me how much I miss Miles Davis.

Marcus Miller – Official Site

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciHBztgN6LA&w=545&h=307]