Global Bass Online                                                                                April 2002

When Miles Davis came out of his self-imposed retirement in 1980 he was looking for some fresh new talent to surround him self with for his comeback band. He recruited a young guitarist named Mike Stern, old friend Al Foster on drums, percussionist Mino Cinelu and a young bass phenom named Marcus Miller. In Miller, Miles not only found an amazing bassist but a kindred musical spirit and a person who would become Miles’ musical alter ego for the rest of his career. Marcus composed and produced the majority of Miles’ music starting with 1980’s The Man With The Horn. They took the band on the road and recorded We Want Miles the following year made up of different highlights from the tour. Marcus collaborated on several more projects with Miles culminating in many ways with 1985’s Tutu. Marcus said that he felt he reached a certain level as a producer and composer with Tutu playing nearly all the instruments himself on the CD. Although Miles used other great bass players after Marcus, it was Miller who set the template for Miles’ music during the 1980’s.  The were forever connected as Miles played many of Marcus’ compositions right up until the time of his death in 1991. This track is the title cut from Tutu and it features many of the classic Marcus Miller hallmarks in a tune, the slinky bass line, the shifting harmonies, and the brooding melody. Marcus knew how to feature Miles by making the right backdrops for him, the right grooves, and the right musicians. Theirs was a truly magical chemistry. Remember to tune the E string down to D if you don’t have a 5 string to get the low D’s in the bass line. Enjoy.

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