Marcus Miller
Terence Blanchard & Ravi Coltrane

It is an understatement to say that Marcus Miller is a regular guest of Jazz à Vienne. How can we forget one of his most noteworthy concerts, among many others, which took place at the Théâtre Antique in 2011 with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the passing of Miles Davis? But 2026 is an even more important year: it is the one of the hundredth birthday of the trumpet player whose music is an endless source of inspiration, even for contemporary musicians. For the occasion, the brilliant bassist, who accompanied Miles Davis in the early 1980s, reunited the original members of the band that participated in the trumpeter's unexpected comeback in 1981: Bill Evans on saxophone, Mike Stern on guitar, and Mino Cinelu on percussion. They will be accompanied by Russell Gunn on the trumpet, Bret Williams on the keyboards and Anwar Marshall on the drums. Together, they will revisit and reinvent in their own way the shape-shifting work of their former boss, without forgetting any period of his incredible career, which experienced all kinds of jazz from the late 40s to the early 90s. So, yes, We Want Miles! more than ever and Marcus Miller is the best choice to satisfy us.

Line-up :

• Marcus Miller (bass, bass clarinet)
• Bill Evans (saxophones)
• Mike Stern (guitar)
• Mino Cinelu (percussion)
• Russell Gunn (trumpet)
• Brett Williams (keyboards)
• Anwar Marshall (drums)

John Coltrane and Miles Davis would have been 100 years old in 2026. Celebrating this perfect date with two leaders, Terence Blanchard and Ravi Coltrane, is no coincidence. On one hand, Miles Davis’ vivid memory: Blanchard, virtuoso trumpet player, who played with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, and offered around forty original soundtracks for Hollywood, including Spike Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues in which he stood in for Denzel Washington on the trumpet. On the other hand, Ravi, son of John and Alice Coltrane, having a name evoking the history and the grace of the visionary jazz, who collaborated with Kenny Barron, Jack DeJohnette, McCoy Tyner, etc. Those two musicians question heritage instead of offering a simple cover. Coltrane’s A Love Supreme (1965) and Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue (1959): two bibles which refer to the present and the future. On stage, they will not represent the myths, but they will perpetuate their spirit. Blanchard, for the 7th time in Vienne, and Coltrane, a skilled explorer of this changing territory known as free jazz, will bring back to life those works, between assimilation and improvisation. As a passionate tribute to pioneers, this concert will assert first and foremost that the history of jazz is still to be written.

Line-up :

• Ravi Coltrane (saxophones)
• Terence Blanchard (trumpet)
• Charles Altura (guitar)
• Julian Pollack (keyboards)
• David “DJ” Ginyard (bass)
• Oscar Seaton (drums)