I HEART MARCUS MILLER!!!
Marcus Miller.
Source: Concord Records, Photo by Kumiko Higo
Okay, I probably should admit right off the bat that I'm a bit biased when it comes to bass players. Let's just say that my ears are always tuned to a low E. I am extremely reluctant to even say this on a blog about Marcus Miller, but I play the bass guitar. Really, I think I was moved by Marcus Miller's playing long before I ever touched an E string. The bass is often the first thing I hear in any given song. I just didn't know at the time that almost every song I fell in love with had listed somewhere in the album credits, bass: Marcus Miller.
I remember when I practically popped my Grover Washington Jr. Winelight cassette from playing it so much. And as much as I loved Grover's sax crooning, it was the bass lines that wore me out. I finally picked up the cover to find out who in the world was playing like that! Some guy name Marcus Miller. Cool. So the next project I discovered and fell in love with was Joe Sample's Ashes to Ashes. Another near ruined cassette. That song "The Road Less Traveled"? I had to find out who THAT bass player was. Marcus Miller. Wait a minute! Then I discovered HE'S the blue light in the basement bass player on all those Luther Vandross ballads!! I truly believed I was the only one in the world who knew about this guy. I decided to let my musician friends in on my "as-yet-unknown" discovery. "You know who ya'll need to check out?!!!! This cat named Marcus Miller!!" The response? "Oh yeah. He's the man. He played with Miles." I've hearted Marcus ever since.
Today, he's going to play for you for our full second hour. Call in and talk to him. I'm happy to report that even though he's a musical giant, he's the most down to earth guy you'll ever want to meet.
Tags: Marcus Miller
1:57 PM ET | 04-10-2008 | permalink
