This is the second track on the Rebirth of the Kool album. As its name suggests, it is a tribute to legendary producer and bassist, Marcus Miller.
Trivia: Real Miles often named his tracks after someone (Willy Nelson, Tutu, John McLaughlin)
Hey, Marcus! opens with a monologue by the man himself introducing the track. Yes, it actually is the real Marcus Miller - but he didn’t record it especially for the album. It’s a sample that Marcus added on a product called Bass Legends from Spectrasonics. This is a World-Class sampling library featuring intricately multi-sampled vrtual instruments (VSi's) and chromatically sampled grooves. The distinctive tone of Marcus Miller’s bass was recorded note by note so that you recall the sound by playing it on a keyboard in real time. Marcus himself uses this library when he can’t be bothered to set up his equipment in the studio! So, top secret revealed - not all my tracks feature a real bassist!
MUSICIANS
- Miles, e-trumpet
- Hip Hop Herbie, Keys
- Marcus, Bass (sorta)
- Gary Argent, drums and percussion
- and me, of course
Musically, Hey, Marcus! is ambient groove meets acid house. With a strongly danceable beat throughout it blends psychedelic with chillout. There is some atonal trumpet that scoots through modes and scales with impertinence that even Real Miles would be proud of. Jazz fusion meets EDM. The dynamics ebb a flow, saving the best for last, when a killer synth bass line really gets the party started!
All the tracks on the Rebirth of the Kool album are primarily a video release, you can see them on YouTube at click here
It's a crazy video with dancing skeletons and other worldly vibes. Rave culture is strongly represented. It celebrates the awesomeness of the great outdoors, surf music, and mysticism with a Shakra. It’s the first time we meet Kitty Kat. She’s a slinky, sexy CGI creature with the body of a woman and the face and fur of a cat!
Who was the genius behind Miles Davis return to form after years in the musical wilderness? Why Marcus Miller of course!
The album Tutu was already complete when Marcus offered it to Miles Davis to play on. The rest is history!
This track is an original. There's not much Jimi on this but it's still better than 90% of the pap we hear these days.
Enjoy!