Marcus Miller at SF Jazz

Marcus Miller played a haunting version of Gorée on bass clarinet, after introducing this composition as inspired by his visit to the island in Africa that was a slave trading center. His tune for his mother-in-law, Bunny’s Dream, was also especially beautiful. His tribute to Jaco Pastorius, “Mr Pastorius,” was another highlight, featuring Russell Gunn on trumpet who played with a Miles Davis-inspired muted tone. The show had no shortage of jaw-dropping bass solos, but especially featured Marcus’s talents as a composer.

As an encore, Marcus surprised everyone by leading the band through a rendition of Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew, a song variously described as “Picasso in sound” or “an all-out assault” or “a cultural breakthrough: it sounded like the future.”

As always, Marcus shared his wonderful, upbeat spirit in how he interacts with the audience, with his band, and in his joyful playing. We had great seats stage-left with a view over the drummer and percussionist.

Our friends Ruth-Anne and Evan joined us for the show, and we were delightful surprised to find neighbors Mike and Beth there as well. Fun drinks at the “B-Side” with tasty mini-arepas.

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