Marcus Miller | “Marcus”

Marcus Miller
“Marcus”
www.marcusmiller.comI’m not afraid to admit it…  I had gotten a little tired of the Marcus sound.  He is, without a doubt, a monster player, producer, writer and innovator on the instrument.  I had just kind of felt like, “Yeah…  it’s the Marcus thing” with the past few albums.That said, this album is fantastic!  He is definitely not playing things safe with the old stand by.  The production is, of course, stellar, but beyond that…  the writing and choices made both in musicians hired for the project and instrumentation in general, is great.  Of special note are some of the covers.  “What is Hip” (Tower of Power) is just jaw dropping.  I got a blister on my thumb just listening to it..  crank that tune up and bow down to the master.  Jean Pierre (Miles Davis)is as slinky as it gets (Gregoire Maret plays wonderfully here!).  My favorite track is the opening, “Blast!”.  Middle Eastern vibe and tonality with a very hip melody.  Marcus’ pocket on this tune is just undeniable.

We all love MM.  He innovated a sound and approach.  This might be my favorite album yet!