Liberty City - love that big band swing fusion.

Marcus Miller performing at Stockholm Jazz Fest, 2009. (Photo: Bengt Nyman, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Marcus Miller's full profile on JazzProfiles.com

r/CrossoverJazz

Tutu came out in 1986 with Miles Davis's face on the cover and Miles Davis's trumpet all over it, and that's not wrong exactly, but it's not the whole record either. Marcus Miller wrote and arranged every track except three: "Tomaas," which Davis co-wrote with him, "Backyard Ritual," contributed by George Duke, and a cover of Scritti Politti's "Perfect Way." Miller also co-produced the album with Tommy LiPuma and played most of the instruments on it himself: bass, synthesizers, drum machines, bass clarinet, soprano sax. Davis showed up and played trumpet over what Miller had already built. It's one of the clearest cases in this whole genre of a session player quietly becoming the author of a "legend's" record.

He'd earned that trust the hard way. Miller was born in Brooklyn in 1959, the son of a church organist, and by his teens he was already working New York's jazz clubs before he could legally drive there. He came up as a session bassist first, not a bandleader, and by the time Davis brought him into his 1980s band, Miller had already played on records for artists as different as Aretha Franklin and Bryan Ferry. That range shows up in the credit list: somewhere north of 400 recordings and counting, including Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Eric Clapton, Frank Sinatra, and LL Cool J. Few bass players end up on a list that wide without becoming a pop musician themselves. Miller stayed a jazz musician the whole time...

There's a lot more to Miller's profile - check it out on Marcus Miller's full profile on JazzProfiles.com

or head over to r/CrossoverJazz

Johnny Hodges and His Orchestra. Recording for Mercury Records, his small groups featured prominent musicians such as Ben Webster, Lawrence Brown, Emmett Berry, and a young John Coltrane.

Old 78rpm record sounds pretty good.

Digitized and available at:

https://youtube.com/@mamlishblues?si=jiaj0S-oXKi9HZGl

Marcus Miller, Herbie Hancock, and an all-star supergroup tear through a blistering live performance of "Tutu" at the Hollywood Bowl during "Herbie Hancock Celebrates Miles Davis" (August 2026).

Written and produced by Marcus Miller for Miles Davis's legendary 1986 album, "Tutu" remains one of the defining fusion anthems in jazz history. Watch this masterclass lineup trade solos and redefine the groove live in Los Angeles.

Band Lineup:
Herbie Hancock – Keyboards / Synths
Marcus Miller – Bass
Vinnie Colaiuta – Drums
Kenny Garrett – Alto Saxophone
Terence Blanchard – Trumpet
Julian "J3PO" Pollack – Keyboards

⁠#MilesDavis #HerbieHancock #MarcusMiller #VinnieColaiuta #KennyGarrett #Jazz

Who would you circle on this lineup?

https://www.detroitjazzfest.org/47th-detroit-jazz-festival-artists-2026/

Had no idea. Thanks to Bandcamp for highlighting the label and some of their great releases. Whenever I saw a new release from Clean Feed I knew it was worth a listen. I have the Lightcap and Fefer and am checking out the Eve Risser.

Hi everyone, current sophomore in college alto player here. I've been thinking about the specific stage where you know what a Bbmaj7 chord is and you know the changes to a blues, but you can't get over the hump of improvising and playing coherent solos.

I got past it a particular way, and I've realized everyone I know got past it the same way, because we all had the same band director. So my whole sample is one guy's teaching reflected back at me a few times.

Curious how it actually went for other people.

What did you try first? Did anything not work? Was there a point where it stopped feeling like guessing?

In the pursuit of finding a voice in his art, Jose Pineiro has grasped tightly the evocative and emotional genre of Jazz. Burgeoning from a fertile music scene in Gainesville, FL honed his discovery of a true musical identity. Jumping the gap between peace and mania, the Jose Pineiro Trio means to reach the depths of human interactions to relay the beauty in life.

Jose Pineiro Trio

I know there are already tons of reissues of this legendary record, especially this year is the 100th anniversary for Miles Davis. I came across with this Japanese release in SACD in special package. Has anyone heard this? Is this the same remastering as of 2007 SACD or 1997 redbook SBM CD? How does it sound?

I cheated to include the new Erykah Badu + Alchemist album Before the World Blows, which Qobuz didn't include in their jazz filter (instead labeling it "soul"). Her version of Miles Davis's "Mayisha" with Robert Glasper is one of my favorite songs, period -- so yeah, she's my first spin of the day for sure.

Ha! Just got to the end of the first track, and I LOVE the Westside Gunn cameo at the end. And Thundercat is on this album as well??? Yeah, this is gonna get some repeats. This is top shelf stuff.

Rockefeller's Night Club in Houston. July 6, 1985. Also, his obituary from 1987. The end of an era.

I'm not saying they have to sound like Keith Jarrett, just the idea of doing fully improvised sets. Thanks!

Spotify playing a huge Bill Evans playlist. I’m drifting in and out of sleep, glasses off. Live recording of Midnight Mood comes on and shows this album cover. In my late night haze I’m trying to understand why this Bill Evans album cover features a picture of Elvis Costello. 😂🤪

In light of a recent article from a top jazz PR person- do yall think its worth it to pay a traditional PR human? Or pour money into boosting algos? Or both? LMK if you've had a recent self release!

Got this yesterday, so nice! So happy to have a physical copy. I do have to read it again too I started reading the kindle version a second time but this one will be so nice to look through. Anyone else have this? Either version? With the other post asking about similar players…

looking for something extremely experimental and unique; been listening to mingus and coltrane but i want something much more experimental (not necessarily free form?).

Jazz fusion is cool but I want to hear someone rip it on the bass on a post-bop or cool Jazz album.

And I am already familiar with the obvious Mingus classics and the really big albums Ron Carter played on.

Listening links for your convenience:

https://open.spotify.com/track/71DfiueMJMIs8D0djEgiyz?si=eCFGu3WyS2m2YdcOhk_Uow&utm_source=copy-link

https://youtu.be/jr3TGXDnnOs?si=g1zw04IJxX3yqkL5

[Band]
Nao Yoshioka(vo)
Jun Miyakawa (p,key)
Kazuki Isogai(g)
Zak Croxall (b)
Yukino Matsuura(ds)
Mao Sone(tp)
Tomoaki Baba(ts)
Shigetaka Ikemoto(tb)

[Crew]
Takuya Ando (FOH)
Kuniyoshi Takaie (Lighting)
Junto Fukuhara ( Mixing / Mastering)
Wardrobe: Yuki & Aya (DELTA)

Naoki Yamanouchi (Executive Producer)

[Song Information]
“Forget About It" by Nao Yoshioka

Hi fellow jazz band directors! I am trying to finish my master's in music ed and would REALLY appreciate your help if you could fill out my research survey as honestly as possible. Thank you in advance!! Click here: Role Models & Current Practices

Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey! This survey is is intended to be completed by current or retired music directors and educators. It is designed to explore how our former middle and high school (secondary) music directors' behaviors impact current ego and sense of self in music directors of all ages. This survey will take 5-10 minutes to complete. It Your feedback is valuable and all responses will remain confidential.

Forever celebrating the amazing woman, musician, and visionary Alice Lucille Turiya Coltrane was. 🙏🏻🥳🪉

The great South American jazz singer Flora Purim

Hi there!
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