Bassist Marcus Miller Joins August 3 Line-up at 2013 Newport Jazz Festival

NEWPORT, RI, February 22, 2013 (Press-News.org) Marcus Miller, the stellar composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist best known as a bassist, has been added to the Saturday, August 3, line-up of the Newport Jazz Festival presented by Natixis Global Asset Management, which takes place August 2 - 4 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame and Fort Adams State Park. Miller, who by the age of 15 was already playing bass and writing songs for flutist Bobbi Humphrey and keyboardist Lonnie Liston Smith, is the personification of the Newport Festivals Foundation's mission of presenting the best of emerging and established artists.

Raised in a musical family that includes his father William Miller (a church organist and choir director), the jazz pianist Wynton Kelly and rapper Foxy Brown, Miller has put his stamp on hundreds of jazz, R & B, fusion and rock recordings for more than 30 years. His credits as a sideman on albums cross the spectrum of musical styles: rock (Donald Fagen and Eric Clapton), Jazz (George Benson, Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Sample, Wayne Shorter and Grover Washington, Jr.), pop (Roberta Flack, Paul Simon and Mariah Carey), R&B (Aretha Franklin and Chaka Khan), hip hop (Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg), blues (Z.Z. Hill), new wave (Billy Idol), smooth jazz (Al Jarreau and Dave Koz) and opera (collaborations with tenor Kenn Hicks and soprano Kathleen Battle).

As a producer, writer and player, Miller was the last primary collaborator of Miles Davis, contributing the composition and album "Tutu" to the catalog of contemporary jazz music. His collaborative talents have been showcased in his work with Luther Vandross, contributing to more than half of the singer's albums as a producer, composer and/or player on a string of hits including "Power of Love/Love Power" for which Marcus won his first Grammy, 1991's R&B Song of the Year. He also left an unforgettable mark on David Sanborn's distinctive sound.

In 2008, Marcus co-led the all-star bass trio S.M.V. with Stanley Clarke and Victor Wooten for an album (entitled "Thunder") followed by an extensive world tour. The following year, he put together a new band of young musicians for "Tutu Revisited" - a project that started as a special one night only event that culminated with the CD/DVD Tutu Revisited featuring Christian Scott. In 2011, he co-led the trio DMS, a funk-jazz collaboration with George Duke and David Sanborn. Last summer, Marcus conceived of and produced "Tribute to Miles, " a 9-city tour of Europe with fellow Davis alumni Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter, in which they presented their unique vision of every era of Miles' music. (Shorter celebrates his 80th birthday with Hancock as special guest at the Newport Jazz Festival also on Saturday, August 3.)

Miller's 2012 album, "Renaissance, " is his eighth studio project since his 1983 debut, "Suddenly." The compilation includes special guests Gretchen Parlato, Ruben Blades and Dr. John and covers of hits by The Jackson Five, WAR, Ivan Lins and Janelle Monae.

The bassist, who started his career as a young sideman, now finds himself as an elder to many of today's younger artists. He tells ebony.com, "Well, I was always the youngest guy in the group, by far. All of a sudden, one day, man, I looked up, and I've got these guys who are like, in the same position that I was. I'll tell a story about somebody like Miles Davis or Dizzy Gillespie, who they only read about ... and they're all looking at me with really big eyes. And I realize, oh wow: I'm that guy, now. I'm the connection for these guys to the history of this music."

The Newport Jazz Festival presented by Natixis Global Asset Management features Natalie Cole and the Bill Charlap Trio with special guest Freddy Cole, at the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino (194 Bellevue Avenue) on Friday, August 2, at 8:00 pm. The festival continues on Saturday, August 3, on three unique stages from 10:30 am - 7:00 pm at Fort Adams State Park (90 Fort Adams Drive). The roster includes Wayne Shorter's 80th Birthday Celebration: Wayne Shorter Quartet featuring special guest Herbie Hancock and Danilo Perez, John Patitucci & Brian Blade; Marcus Miller; Esperanza Spalding - Radio Music Society; Michel Camilo Sextet; Terence Blanchard Quintet; Robert Glasper Experiment; Gregory Porter; Edmar Castañeda; Ray Anderson Pocket Brass Band; Amir ElSaffar Two Rivers; Bill Charlap Trio with guests Bob Wilber and Anat Cohen; Mary Halvorson Quintet; Rez Abbasi Trio, among others.

On Sunday, August 4, the music continues at Fort Adams at 10:30 am with Chick Corea & The Vigil with Christian McBride, Tim Garland, Marcus Gilmore and Charles Altura; Eddie Palmieri Salsa Orchestra; Roy Haynes Fountain of Youth Band featuring Jaleel Shaw, Martin Bejerano and David Wong; Dizzy Gillespie Big Band under the direction of Paquito D'Rivera; Hiromi: The Trio Project with Anthony Jackson and Steve Smith; Joshua Redman Quartet; Jim Hall Quartet featuring Julian Lage; Jon Batiste & Stay Human; Dee Alexander: Songs That My Mother Loved; The Dirty Dozen Brass Band; Lew Tabackin Quartet with Randy Brecker, Peter Washington and Lewis Nash; Donny McCaslin Group; Steve Coleman Projects: Five Elements, Talea Ensemble and Duo with Tyshawn Sorey; David Gilmore & Numerology featuring Claudia Acuña, Miguel Zenón, Luis Perdomo, Christian McBride, Jeff "Tain" Watts and Mino Cinelu; and others.

TICKETS & OTHER INFORMATION

Tickets for the 2013 Newport Jazz Festival presented by Natixis Global Asset Management are on sale now at http://www.newportjazzfest.net, by phone and by mail.

There will be a festival office in the Newport area where tickets can be purchased in person at a later date. For general information, craft vendor information or to leave a message for festival staff, call the festival hotline at (401) 848-5055. For more information, log on to http://www.newportjazzfest.net or http://www.newportfestivalsfoundation.org.

*Artists Subject to change

About Natixis Global Asset Management, S.A.

Natixis Global Asset Management, S.A. (www.ngam.natixis.com) ranks among the world's 15 largest asset managers.1 As a multi-affiliate company, NGAM brings together the expertise of multiple specialized investment managers under one umbrella with the belief that this combined expertise offers unique market perspective. The firm spreads this same ideal in the global community by sponsoring programs and events that help enrich the lives of individuals and enhance and preserve the cultural experience for future generations through music.
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1 Cerulli Quantitative Update: Global Markets 2012 ranked Natixis Global Asset Management, S.A. as the 13th largest asset manager in the world based on assets under management as of December 31, 2011.

About Newport Festivals Foundation

The Newport Festivals Foundation was founded by George Wein in 2010 to build and continue the legacies of the famed Newport Jazz Festival and Newport Folk Festival . Under the auspices of the Foundation, the Newport Jazz Festival presents performers who respect and honor jazz music traditions, and at the same time reflect the changes in today's musical trends. Through the establishment of partnerships with local high schools and colleges/universities, the Foundation will present programs to educate young people about jazz music as presented at the annual festivals. For more information, please visit http://www.newportfestivalsfoundation.org.

In addition to presenting sponsor Natixis Global Asset Management, additional sponsorship support for the Newport Jazz Festival is provided by Alex and Ani, a positive energy, eco-conscious, lifestyle brand, and Louis Jadot, America's #1 French Wine.