Marcus Miller — Paradiso, Amsterdam, 2007

Full concert by Marcus Miller, filmed live at Paradiso in Amsterdam on 17 October 2007 and captured by Fabchannel, the Dutch platform that archived hundreds of shows from the venue. At this point the New York bassist and composer is touring his album Free, bringing to the stage his full vocabulary: percussive slap bass, deep grooves, bass clarinet and arrangements where funk, jazz and instrumental soul meet. This live concert of nearly one hour and fifty minutes runs through pieces that became landmarks of his live set — ‘Blast’, his reading of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Higher Ground’, ‘Jean Pierre’ borrowed from Miles Davis, ‘Panther’, then ‘Free’, ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ and ‘The End’. Shaped by the New York studio scene and by Miles Davis’s final electric band, Marcus Miller confirms here his standing as a reference bassist of contemporary jazz-funk. The filmed concert conveys the energy of the Amsterdam room and the precision of a tightly drilled band, moving between long improvised stretches and melodic themes. A definitive live document for understanding Marcus Miller on stage in the mid-2000s.