Laid Black
| Laid Black | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 1, 2018 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 53:56 | |||
| Label | Blue Note | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Marcus Miller chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| DownBeat | [1] |
| Financial Times | [2] |
| Jazz Forum | [3] |
| Jazzwise | [4] |
| laut.de | [5] |
Laid Black is a studio album by American recording artist Marcus Miller. It was released on June 1, 2018 by Blue Note Records. Laid Black was nominated for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.[6][7] The album features collaborations with Trombone Shorty, Jonathan Butler, Take 6, Selah Sue, Kirk Whalum & Alex Han.[8][9]
The track "Keep 'Em Runnin" is based on "Runnin" from Earth, Wind & Fire's 1977 album "All 'n All". Miller's arrangement plays the original melody over a half-tempo hip hop beat and adds a rap.[10]
Reception
Michelle Mercer of DownBeat wrote, "There’s no judging an album by its cover. But the cover of Marcus Miller’s Laid Black is a litmus test: The title’s pun, the image of a shirtless Miller gazing with soulful directness and the musician’s reputation itself will divide most listeners into believers and doubters before they’ve even heard the first bass slap."[1] Dan Bilawski of JazzTimes stated, "In liberally mixing aspects of R&B, trap, funk, and hip-hop with jazz, Miller manages to play up their commonalities while leveraging the originality and accessibility of each."[11]
Track listing
All songs written by Marcus Miller, except where noted.[12][13]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Trip Trap" | 6:59 | |
| 2. | "Que Sera, Sera" | Ray Evans, Jay Livingston | 6:04 |
| 3. | "7-T's" | Alex Blake, Marcus Miller | 5:56 |
| 4. | "Sublimity" | Alex Han, Brett Williams, Marcus Miller | 6:44 |
| 5. | "Untamed" | Charles Haynes, Mitch Henry, Brett Williams, Marcus Miller | 4:48 |
| 6. | "No Limit" | 5:36 | |
| 7. | "Someone To Love" | 4:42 | |
| 8. | "Keep 'Em Running" | Eddie Del Barrio, Larry Dunn, Maurice White, Marcus Miller | 5:19 |
| 9. | "Preacher's Kid" | 7:43 | |
| Total length: | 53:51 | ||
Personnel
- Marcus Miller – vocals (1, 3, 7, 8), keyboards (1, 7), synthesizers (1, 2, 5, 6, 8), bass (1–6, 8), drum and rhythm programming (1, 6), Wurlitzer electric piano (2), organ (2), clavinet (2), rhythm guitar (2), alto saxophone (2), backing vocals (2), guitars (3), bass clarinet (4, 9), low brass arrangements (4), acoustic piano solo (5), fretless bass (5, 7), percussion (7)
- Brett Williams – keyboards (1, 3, 5, 9), acoustic piano (4, 6), Fender Rhodes (4, 6, 8), synthesizers (4), organ (4), acoustic piano solo (5), keyboard bass (9)
- Mitch Henry – keyboards (5)
- Caleb McCampbell – vocoder (6)
- Cliff Barnes – acoustic piano (7)
- Adam Agati – guitar solo (2), guitars (7)
- Jonathan Butler – acoustic guitar (4), vocals (4)
- Alex Bailey – drums (1, 2, 9), percussion (3, 4)
- Louis Cato – drums (3, 4, 6–8), vocals (8)
- Charles Haynes – drums (5), programming (5)
- Richie Gajate-Garcia – percussion (8)
- Alex Han – alto saxophone (1–4, 6–9)
- Kirk Whalum – flute (5), tenor sax solo (8), tenor saxophone (9)
- Trombone Shorty – trombone solo (3)
- Brian Culbertson – trombone (8)
- Marquis Hill – trumpet (1, 3, 4, 6,,8)
- Michael "Patches" Stewart – trumpet (2, 5, 8)
- Russell Gunn – New Orleans horns in end section arrangements (1), trumpet (9)
- Selah Sue – vocals (2)
- Peculiar 3 – vocals (5)
- Honey Larochelle – vocals (8)
- Julian Miler – vocals (8)
- Take 6 – vocals (9)
Production
- Harold Goode – executive producer, associate producer
- Marcus Miller – producer, arrangements
- Harry Martin Jr. – associate producer
- Brenda Miller – co-producer, project coordinator
- Bibi Green – music contractor, artist management
- Bernard Dulau – artist management
- Lex Sadler – art direction, design, layout
- Andrew Dunn – cover photography
- Cathrin Cammett – back cover photography
Technical credits
- Ron Boustead – mastering at Resolution Mastering (Sherman Oaks, California)
- Chris Allen – engineer (1–4, 6, 8)
- Aleks Edmonds – engineer (1–4, 6, 8)
- Julian Miller – engineer (1–4, 6, 8)
- Marcus Miller – engineer (1–4, 6, 8)
- Jason Shavey – engineer (1–4, 6, 8)
- David Rideau – mixing (1–4, 6–9)
- Jan de Ryck – lead vocal engineer (2)
- Feri Bong – engineer (5), mixing (5)
- Colin Fleming – engineer (5)
- Charles Haynes – engineer (5), mixing (5)
- Justin Tocket – engineer (7)
- Jeff Gartenbaum – engineer (9)
- Charles Smith – additional engineer (3)
- Xian You Ong – assistant engineer (5)
- Karl Wingate – assistant engineer (9)
References
- ^ a b Mercer, Michelle (September 2018). "DownBeat Reviews". DownBeat. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ Hobart, Mike (June 1, 2018). "Marcus Miller: Laid Black — ice-cool control". Financial Times. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ Iwicki, Piotr (August 7, 2018). "Laid Black | Jazz Forum". Jazz Forum (in Polish). Retrieved August 26, 2021.
- ^ Robson, Andy. "Review". Jazzwise. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ Kubanke, Ulf. "Das E-Funkelium nach Marcus" (in German). laut.de. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ "about". Marcus Miller. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- ^ "Marcus Miller". GRAMMY.com. November 19, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- ^ Sexton, Paul (June 1, 2018). "Grammy-Winning Bassist Marcus Miller Returns With 'Laid Black' | uDiscover". uDiscover Music. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- ^ "Blue Note Records". www.bluenote.com. May 18, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- ^ January 2020, Bass Player Staff08 (January 8, 2020). "Marcus Miller: keep 'em running". Bass Player. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Bilawsky, Dan (April 25, 2019). "Marcus Miller: Laid Black (Blue Note)". JazzTimes. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ a b "Laid Black - Marcus Miller | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- ^ "Marcus Miller - Laid Black". Discogs. June 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2020.