Marcus Miller Talks About Working With Luther Vandross

Renowned bassist, producer and songwriter Marcus Miller was interviewed recently by EBONY magazine, and spoke about Luther Vandross. Here is an excerpt:

EBONY: You mentioned working with Luther and Miles [Davis]. On the surface, it would seem that they have nothing in common. But Miles played trumpet with a lyrical, vocal quality, and Luther’s voice was as supple as a trumpet. Did you notice any similarities in how they made music?

MM: Absolutely. There are a lot of trumpeters who play with a lot technique. And there are a lot of singers who can riff all over the place. But Luther and Miles; they could play all the notes, but they just played the right notes. They found the notes that would affect you, emotionally… Roberta Flack, too! I mention her because, I was in her band, and that’s where Luther and I met; he was singing background for her.