Marcus Miller & Alonzo Bodden

09/18/18 • 45 min

Marcus Miller has been dubbed one of the most influential artists of our time. His characteristic bass sound can be heard on a limitless catalog of musical hits from Bill Wither’s “Just The Two Of Us”, to Luther Vandross’ “Never Too Much”, to songs from Chaka Khan, David Sanborn, Herbie Hancock, Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, George Benson, Elton John, and Bryan Ferry to name a few. With his distinctive style - a unique combination of funk, groove, soul and pure technical skills - Miller has been referred to as one of the most significant bass players in jazz, R &B, fusion and soul. Miller has left an indelible mark on the careers of artists as David Sanborn, Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau, Bob James, Lalah Hathaway, and Wayne Shorter. Most notably, after several years of touring in Miles Davis’ band in the early 80’s, Miller developed a close professional and personal relationship with Davis which led to his collaboration on three critically acclaimed albums - the most famous being the ground-breaking album and title song Tutu which is considered to be one of the definitive Miles Davis albums. Alonzo Bodden, winner of Season 3 of NBC’s Last Comic Standing, is a regular on NPR’s “Wait Wait...Don’t Tell Me!” and “Comedy Congress,” as well as being a panelist on the Game Show Network’s “Mind of a Man.” In 2011, he starred in the comedy special “Who’s Paying Attention” on Showtime, released a DVD, and hosts a podcast of the same name. That same year, he was a panelist on the syndicated show “Inside the Vault,” and voiced the character of Thunderon in the Power Rangers movie. Alonzo has made the rounds on the late-night television circuit including appearances on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” “The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn,” and “The Keenen Ivory Wayans” show. His film credits include “Scary Movie 4,” “The Girl Next Door,” and “Bringing Down the House” starring Steve Martin and Queen Latifah. Alonzo has traveled around the world entertaining USO troops from Iraq to Greenland.

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Jeff "Tain" Watts

6-time Grammy-award winning drummer, Jeff “Tain” Watts, has been the drummer of choice for some of the most notable acts in jazz including appearances on Grammy-winning albums by both Branford AND Wynton Marsalis. With nearly a dozen albums as leader and countless others as a side-man, Tain has played and recorded with such artists as Michael Brecker, Harry Connick Jr., The Mingus Big Band, Pat Martino, and Alice Coltrane. Tain has also appeared in TV and film including a three-year stint on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and an appearance in Spike Lee’s “Mo’ Better Blues” as the character Rhythm Jones.

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Will Lee

Will Lee was greatly influenced to pursue music because of his parents. His father, William Franklin Lee III played piano, trumpet and the upright bass professionally. Lee's mother sang with big bands. Lee took up drums after seeing the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, and by the time he was 12 had formed his first band in Miami. The band played popular surfing tunes characteristic of the 1960s. With the great numbers of drummers in Miami, Lee shifted to bass, an instrument that offered more opportunities. Lee was part of a succession of bands including top 40 bands with names like "Chances R" "The Loving Kind", and "Green Cloud." Upon moving to New York City, Trumpeter Randy Brecker called Lee and invited him to audition for Dreams. In New York, Lee's career as a session musician flourished, and he toured with many artists. Lee played in the New York "24th Street Band" which had great success in Japan, giving him a solo artist career that yielded him a top 5 single. In 1982, Lee became one of the original members of The World's Most Dangerous Band, the house band on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman. He holds the distinction of playing with Paul Shaffer, on both Late Night and the Late Show, longer than any other member of the CBS Orchestra. On the May 13, 2015 episode of the Late Show with David Letterman, as Letterman was interviewing Paul Shaffer, Shaffer gave recognition to the members of his band, and lastly mentioned Lee as the "man who has been with us on bass since the first night we were on Late Night, Will Lee."