Marcus, A Portrait by Patrick Savey

“Jazz has millions of stories, I'm going to tell you one” … so begins this remarkable profile by the prolific French director Patrick Savey, an auteur whose made a career out of capturing improvisational music’s most impressive modern talents. The subject in question is Marcus Miller, a giant of a bassist who, in his late 40s, had already joined the pantheon of the jazz greats by the time this 2013 documentary was made. His list of collaborations reads like a hall of fame roll call, with Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Herbie Hancock, Luther Vandross, Eric Clapton, Mariah Carey, Frank Sinatra (when he was only 15), as well as Elton John, Bill Withers and, of course, the great Miles Davis, for whom he composed almost an entire album. 

A career like Marcus’ draws praise far and wide, which means that this profile is full of other fantastic and iconic musicians providing context for the music: Herbie, Wayne Shorter, George Benson, Al Jarreau … the list goes on and on. Through undoubtedly a possessor of genius-level ability, what distinguishes Marcus, and what makes him so captivating, is his transparency – he speaks to the camera like he’s confiding in a friend, and it sucks the viewer in. The kind of musician, and speaker, who converts complex ideas into clear and beautiful messages, Miller takes us through his New York childhood, his most enduring partnerships and his attachment to Afro-American sound, from gospel to funk to the rhythms of the great continent. He is a treasured personality and rightly so.