Bassist Marcus Miller pointed out how quickly time marches on when he told the packed house at Disney Hall that the impetus for his concert tribute to Miles Davis was realizing that it’s been 20 years that his former boss went to his final reward (judgment?). Bringing together “Cat Number One” (Hancock) and “Cat NumberTwo”(Shorter) as well as trumpeter Sean Jones and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, Miller treated the Davis canon the way the iconic Prince of Darkness would have preferred, looking forward instead of looking back.
Highlighting material mostly from Davis’ 50s and 60s era, Marcus presented the songs as “A soundtrack to Miles’ dreams” meaning the songs like “The Duke” or “Someday My Prince Will Come” were melded together as two long continuous sonic associations, as if audible images were flashing in your mind under REM conditions. On electric bass most of the evening, Miller created a funky groove to the opening “Walkin’” while Shorter and Jones clipped phrases back and forth. A dainty “Milestones” featured Jones’ fragile trumpet while an irresistible deep murky groove by Miller on bass clarinet and Colaiuta’s subversive back beat on “In A Silent Way..Shhh/Peaceful” created a hauntingly sepia mood. All throughout, Hancock was going back and forth between piano and electric keyboards, gliding his hands on explorative solos or providing atmospheric chords for the horns to respond to. And respond they did!
Shorter, who usually sounds as abstract as a Jackson Pollock painting, was focused and lazar sharp throughout the evening, with his soprano on “Footprints” indelibly penetrating and his floating solo on “Someday” enticing. Jones, given the burden of filling Davis’ Italian shoes, rose to the occasion by playing sweet on a hip hopping “All Blues” as well as aggressive on the thunderous “Directions.” All throughout, Miller guided, cajoled and steered the music and teammates providing almost two hours of music that sounded as modern as a 12 Maserati, a fitting tribute to the stylish jazz hero.
This summer the Hollywood Bowl has some hot concerts with Herbie Hancock, George Benson and Dianne Reeves and the fall season at Disney Hall includes shows by Phil Woods, Hancock, Josh Redman and Anat Cohen. Lookin’ good!
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