Some releases are more special than others and when an artist of the stature of Marcus Miller steps up with a new offering then its time to take notice. ‘Silver Rain’ is the Grammy-winning bass supremo’s sixth studio album and is every bit as eclectic as one would expect from someone who has done everything and worked with everybody. Indeed, the varieties and shades that Miller has been able to combine into this sumptuous 15 track selection seems somehow to be a perfect culmination of what is now, for him, thirty plus years in almost every aspect of the business.
Performing from an early age and, as a teenager, writing music for Lonnie Liston Smith, Miller has appeared as a bassist on over 400 records including discs by such artists as Joe Sample, Wayne Shorter, Donald Fagen, Chaka Khan, McCoy Tyner, Mariah Carey, Bill Withers, Elton John, Bryan Ferry, Frank Sinatra, and LL Cool J. He has toured with Miles Davis and also continues to be a first to call studio musician in his home town of New York working, in the process, with Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, Grover Washington Jr., Bob James and David Sanborn.
Turning his attention to producing Miller was responsible for David Sanborn’s Grammy winning ‘Voyeur’ and the follow ups ‘Close Up’, ‘Upfront’ and another Grammy winner, the 2000 ‘Inside’. He has also produced for Miles Davies, Al Jarreau, the Crusaders, Wayne Shorter, Take 6, Chaka Khan, Kenny Garrett and Luther Vandross with whom he had a musical relationship that started out when they met in Roberta Flacks band and endured right through to Luther’s recent and sad death.
Miller stepped center stage in 1993 with the release of his solo album ‘The Sun Don't Lie’. ‘Tales’ followed in 1995 and ‘Live & More’ was released in 1997. ‘M2’, his first release of the new millennium, won the 2001 Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album and was selected by Jazziz as one of the 10 Best CDs of the Year.
Now, with ‘Silver Rain’ he has got another winner on his hands. The construction of the CD is unparalleled starting with the neatest 29 seconds of introduction, ‘Intro Duction’, that you will ever find, all complete with Eartha Kitt sample. Check out the movie ‘Boomerang’, for which Miller composed the score, for the source. This is one of eight compositions on the album written exclusively or in part by Miller and the next, ‘Bruce Lee’, a tight and funky number with throbbing bass throughout, takes its inspiration from the martial arts tapes his sound guy would have on in the background while mixing at Hannibal studios in Santa Monica. It features Gerald Albright on alto sax and comes from the thought Miller had that Bruce Lee fights like a jazz musician. He doesn't know what he's going do until he's in the middle of it! Having come up with the idea he went right into another room and wrote the tune within an hour.
‘La Villette’, co-written by and featuring Lalah Hathaway, is one of the CD’s many high points, mellow, wistful and soulful it’s a track that will live in the memory. Even more laid back is ‘Behind The Smile’ with hallmark Miller playing and a delightful injection of harmonica from Gregoire Maret that makes the whole thing very evocative of a tune from a film score, an art form with which Miller has had considerable success. Old rockers will remember the Edgar Winters classic from the early seventies ‘Frankenstein’ but they will be new to the funk jazz horns of Kirk Whalum and Patches Stewart that really light this one up.
The range of Millers influences and interests really becomes apparent with his bluesy interpretation of Beethoven's ‘Moonlight Sonata’, an inspiration presented to him when he heard his son practicing the piano piece at home. From Beethoven to Wonder is a big leap that perhaps only Marcus Miller could pull off and he does it so well with his own take on Stevie's ‘Boogie On Reggae Woman’. A further shift in gears sees him pay his respects to Hendrix with his version of ‘The Power Of Soul’. It is every bit as frenetic as the original yet Miller still manages to make it sound fresh and different.
Mid album interludes are always nice and the melodic ‘Paris’ with Miller again duet ting with Gregoire Maret doesn’t disappoint while the title track, co written with Eric Clapton, Bill Withers, Joey Kibble and KEM is a revelation. With the name Silver Rain coming from a poem by Langston Hughes and originally written with Eric Clapton in mind as the performer, this tune, seven years in the making, revolves around a reggae shuffle, great vocals from Clapton and a knock-out horn riff.
The dreamy late night melody of ‘Make Up My Mind’, another Miller composition, gives him the chance to excel on bass clarinet and this is also his chosen instrument for the classy Brenda Russell penned ‘If Only For One Night’ and the sophisticated spin on the Duke Ellington tune ‘Sophisticated Lady’. ‘Girls And Boys’, written by Prince and with his mark all over it, is tight, funky and enriched by the distinctive voice of Macy Gray. It’s a personal favorite and another of the CD’s standouts.
With ‘Silver Rain’ Marcus Miller has brought us a blend of funk, jazz, classical, blues, reggae and world music that serves as a wonderful showcase for his talents. It is destined to become a modern day classic.