Ask pop-music fans who Marcus Miller is, and they are likely to be stumped. Mentioned the songs he played on, however, and their eyes will light up in recognition.
The American jazz musician remains one of the most in-demand bassists in the business – you need a lot of credibility to get the 57-year-old to appear on your record.
His swooning riffs were prominent in Mariah Carey's 1990 hit Vision of Love.
His contribution to Where You Are, from Whitney Houston's 1987 debut album Whitney, was even more delicate.
Miller's work reached a new generation in 1996 when rapper Jay Z collaborated with Mary J Blige on Can't Knock the Hustle, which sampled Miller's riffs from his solo track Much Too Much.
Then there are all the jazz legends he has performed with, including a 10-year stint from 1980 to 1990 recording with Miles Davis.
Speaking at the recent Mawazine Festival in Morocco, Miller says those heady years were one big rush. “It was basically whoever needed bass, they would call me up,” he says.
“I just ran to the studio, read the music and played it. There was Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis – it didn’t matter who it was. After it was done, I packed up my bass and ran to the next studio and did the same thing.”
As a testament to his work ethic, Miller also managed to build a prolific career as a solo artist.
He has released more than a dozen solo albums over three decades – but it is only in the past 10 years or so that he has managed to emerge from the studio and engage in world tours. They were full of insights, he says.
“When I was in the studio, I didn’t know who would listen to the music,” he says. “It would just go out there in the world and I wouldn’t know where it goes.”
“But now in the past 10 years, I travel around and play shows. I see people, we take pictures together and they tell me what my music means to them. That just changed my life.
“For someone to say: ‘Here is my son, I named him Marcus because your music is so important to me,’ that makes you humble and take your music more seriously.”
His latest album is a case in point. The Grammy Award-winning Afrodeezia is akin to a music travelogue of Miller's journey into understanding the African slave trade.
As a spokesman for Unesco’s Slave Route Project, Miller travelled to several countries including Senegal (visiting the haunting House of Slaves on Gorée Island), Morocco, the Caribbean, Paris and New Orelans. It was a life-changing experience, Miller explains.
“Art, and music in particular, speaks to emotions that are basic to all of us in a very clear way, without the problem that we have when we begin to use words,” he says. “Words are our greatest inventions, of course, but they do have limitations.
“If we speak different languages, then it would be difficult to discuss the specifics of what we feel. But if I play a certain phrase on an instrument, you can understand what I am saying. You can say things with music that is very difficult to express with words.”
What is striking about Afroodeezia, is that it doesn't sound morbid. Peppered with eclectic guest stars, including political rapper Chuck D from Public Enemy, popular jazz pianist Robert Glasper and sultry vocalist Lalah Hathaway, the album is a gumbo of styles ranging from the propulsive sounds of Ghanian HighLife (in the opener Hylife) to the hypnotic blues of the Moroccan music form Gnawa in the track B's River.
The latter finds Miller adeptly playing the genre’s signature instrument, the three-stringed lute called the gimbri.
Afrodeezia is unapologetic in its mission to entertain.
“It is a celebration that African Americans have made it through that journey of slavery and made it through the other side with dignity and humanity,” Miller says.
“It’s hard, because every time you mention slavery, everything gets dark. I wanted it to be a celebration of resilience and, just as importantly, show that music was a salvation in a lot of ways.”
With shows and festival appearances booked until the end of the year, Miller is confident the road will hold more inspiration.
The key, he states, is to focus on the little things.
“You always see artists talking about the sunrises and all that– but there other things, too,” he adds.
“I can get inspired by people’s voices. Arguments have their own sounds. I always keep notes of what I hear and the feelings I get.
“The important thing is to keep your eyes open, because inspiration is everywhere. You can see wonderful things.
“The job of an artist is to then express it in the best way you can.”
• Next week on the Mawazine sessions, the French soul singer Imany
sasaeed@thenational.ae
Scores
Wales 74-24 Tonga
England 35-15 Japan
Italy 7-26 Australia
Leading all-time NBA scorers
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
Karl Malone 36,928
Kobe Bryant 33,643
Michael Jordan 32,292
LeBron James 31,425
Wilt Chamberlain 31,419
Abu Dhabi race card
5pm Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige | Dh110,000 | 1,400m
5.30pm Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige | Dh110,000 | 1,400m
6pm Abu Dhabi Championship Listed | Dh180,000 | 1,600m
6.30pm Maiden | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
7pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap | Dh80,000 | 1,400m
7.30pm Handicap (TB) |Dh100,000 | 2,400m
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2015%20PRO%20MAX
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The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Company%20Profile
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if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
The%20specs
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Racecard
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THE BIO:
Favourite holiday destination: Thailand. I go every year and I’m obsessed with the fitness camps there.
Favourite book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s an amazing story about barefoot running.
Favourite film: A League of their Own. I used to love watching it in my granny’s house when I was seven.
Personal motto: Believe it and you can achieve it.
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The specs: 2019 Jeep Wrangler
Price, base: Dh132,000
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 285hp @ 6,400rpm
Torque: 347Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.6L to 10.3L / 100km
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
