It’s a way for Miller to do something he loves at a time when he’s feeling the loss of a close friend: former NBA star and fellow bassist Wayman Tisdale, who died May 15 at age 44 after a two-year battle with bone cancer.
Tisdale was a 6-foot-9-inch forward who followed hoop stardom at Oklahoma with an NBA career that spanned 12 seasons. In 1995, he recorded a smooth jazz album that became an instant hit. Two years later, he retired from basketball to concentrate on music.
Miller, who appears Thursday with S.M.V. (for Stanley, Marcus, Victor) at House of Blues, was among those who spoke and performed at Tisdale’s memorial service. A multiple Grammy Award winner and successful solo artist, Miller’s resume includes playing with Miles Davis and producing several of his later albums, as well as recordings by Luther Vandross, Chaka Khan and Aretha Franklin. Speaking by phone from a tour stop in Washington, D.C., he traced how basketball and jazz intersected to cement a friendship.
“Around 1985, Wayman’s agent called me, said Wayman was a big fan of mine, and would like to meet me,” Miller recalled. “He was with the Indiana Pacers at the time. I told him next time he came to town to play the Knicks to give me a call. He did, and we immediately hit it off.
“Being a big fan, I had so many questions about basketball,” Miller said. “But I could never get to them because he had all these questions about music he wanted to ask me. When he’d come to town I folded him up into my little Porsche - it was a hilarious sight - and we’d drive all around New York just listening to music. We had a great time.”
But several years passed before Miller realized Tisdale was the real deal as a bass player.
“He said he played, but I assumed it was a hobby, like basketball is a hobby to me. Then, maybe five years later, he sent me a disc and asked me to play some support bass on it. I put it on and thought, ‘Man, this guy can really play.’
“Wayman had this really soulful sound. He was very influenced by the Gap Band, the r & b band. He had this great joy and feeling in his playing. I was really surprised.”
Clarke, Miller and Wooten play the House of Blues Thursday. (Story continues below)
Tisdale’s music fell squarely in commercial jazz territory; all eight of his albums landed in the Top 10 on Billboard’s contemporary jazz charts. Three, including his most recent, “Rebound,” went to No 1.
“Wayman had a beautiful joy in his sound,” said Miller, who asked Tisdale to be his son’s godfather. “He wasn’t playing John Coltrane, Miles Davis, 1966 kind of jazz. His stuff was more pop r & b instrumental music.
“He asked me once, ‘What do you think I can do, man? I can’t play all that crazy stuff like you do.’ I said, ‘Just put your personality into your music. Don’t worry about playing all the fancy stuff. If you can get your personality to come out of your bass, you’ll be fine.’
“What Wayman and I had in common is that we never took anything for granted. Every time you’re up on stage playing music for people who care about what you’re doing, that’s just a wonderful thing. We both shared that attitude.”
S.M.V., at House of Blues, Thursday at 8 p.m. Tickets: $35 and $45; 888-693-2583.
By Bob Young - http://www.bostonherald.com
Shop The Stanley Clarke Store at amazon.com
Shop The Marcus Miller Store at amazon.com
Shop The Victor Wooten Store at amazon.com
Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com
Jazz from Amazon.com
No comments:
Post a Comment