111: Marcus Miller & Gregory Porter w/Michael Lazaroff

This episode of Jazz Cruises Conversations features an interview by Michael Lazaroff with Journey of Jazz co-hosts Marcus Miller and Gregory Porter. The session evolved into a candid conversation where the three shared memorable cruise stories, discussed their musical influences (including Miles Davis, Luther Vandross, and Nat King Cole), recounted their extensive work in scoring films, and debated the double-edged sword of technology in the creative process. Marcus and Gregory were praised not only for being brilliant musicians but also for being two of the most wonderful, thoughtful, and caring men.

Key takeaways in bullet form

• Gregory Porter's Influences: Gregory draws inspiration from artists spanning the musical space between Nat King Cole and Donnie Hathaway, as well as local singers like Pastor Richardson. Gregory noted that standards are "community builders".
• Cruise Anecdotes: Marcus recounted the time he had to deal with McCoy Tyner's displeasure over performing on a Fazioli piano on the North Sea Jazz Cruise. He also shared a story about Joe Sample pausing a smooth jazz concert to scold the band for their tempo and lack of leadership.
• Film Scoring Careers: Both guests have notable careers in film scoring. Gregory Porter was scheduled to record a song for a movie featuring Kate Winslet. Marcus Miller detailed his film scoring start with Miles Davis, who passed off a movie score (completed in two and a half weeks) to him. Marcus has since scored films like House Party, Boomerang, and Marshall (a 1939-set film for which Wynton Marsalis provided music using the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and studio, refusing payment).
• Creative Process: Gregory Porter shared the deeply personal inspiration behind his song "Take Me to the Alley," which was written to express how his mother lived her life by running church missions in the "worst part of town."
• Technology in Music: The conversation addressed how technology has negatively impacted music by reducing the need for musicians to play with each other and fostering "deception" through manipulated recordings. Marcus noted that producers can now "fix" vocals to the point where singers don't sound like the record live. Gregory stated he dislikes the practice of fixing "the pimples" in his recordings, valuing organic expression.
• Future Plans: Marcus expressed a strong desire to produce music for Gregory Porter, calling him "the real".

Host and guest info and relevant links

• Host: Michael Lazaroff, Executive Director of Signature Cruise Experiences.
• Co-host/Guest: Marcus Miller (Bassist, bandleader, composer).
• Co-host/Guest: Gregory Porter (Vocalist, songwriter).
• Future Cruise (Journey of Jazz '26): Marcus Miller and Gregory Porter return as co-hosts. The cruise sails January 24th through the 31st, departing from Tampa and includes two days in the birthplace of jazz, New Orleans. Wynton Marsalis will be performing for guests while the cruise is in New Orleans.
• Learn More: Sign up for updates at journeyofjazz.com.

• Listen to more episodes of Jazz Cruises Conversations on Spotify, iTunes, or wherever you get your podcasts. The back catalog contains more than a hundred interviews from past sailings.
• Theme Music: Provided by Marcus Miller from his song "High Life" on his album Afrodeezia on Blue Note.

Transcript

This is a transcript of Episode 111 of Jazz Cruises Conversations, featuring an interview by executive director Michael Lazaroff with Journey of Jazz co-hosts Marcus Miller and Gregory Porter.

Host Lee Mergner: Hi, welcome to Jazz Cruise's Conversations. I'm your host, Lee Mergner. This week's episode is from an interview by our executive director Michael Lazaroff with Journey of Jazz co-hosts Marcus Miller and Gregory Porter. The session was truly more of a conversation really than a Q&A interview as the three shared memories and stories. Some from the many cruises they've done and some from their lives in music. Among the topics they covered were their musical influences doing music for films, Miles Davis, Luther Vandross, the effect of technology and their creative process. Hope you enjoy it.

Michael Lazaroff:  Last day of the cruise. Take in everything that you can. We had a great great week. Weather was great. Music was great. And the reason why it was great because we had two unbelievable hosts and I'm so proud to bring them on the stage. Please welcome Gregory Porter and Marcus Miller. Awesome. Awesome. Hey, dude.

Yeah, that'd be great.

Yeah, perfect.

Hello, everybody.

Good afternoon.

s***.

Two words that are rarely said from a band stand. Um, I first heard about Gregory Porter from my mother who, you know, began all this. She calls me up one day and she says, "Someone just sent me a YouTube of Gregory Porter". And which is interesting because earlier today we had a conversation and somebody asked me, "When did your mother turn over the cruises to you?" And the answer is really simple. When that happens, will you tell me? cuz she's in my ear at every moment. Anyway, so I'm watching this and I'm just I'm just amazed. He doesn't even know it because I didn't say hi, but I flew up to New York to do a couple of things. Saw your show and I just I just couldn't believe it. Now, my mother, the reason why she was so excited, she had been doing jazz cruises for in the 70s, in the 80s, and she He loved Johnny Hartman and Joe Williams. That's all she would listen to. And she said, "He's almost as good as they are".

Marcus Miller: No, that's true.

Michael Lazaroff:  And the truth is he's better. But

Gregory Porter foolishness. Foolishness.

Michael Lazaroff:  Anyway, but that's that's how I met Gregory Porter. Marcus Miller years ago. I mean, it's now been a while. We were doing a a a North Sea EJ cruise. Okay. Anybody here?

You were on that cruise. That was that was amazing. That was in July on the North Sea Jazz cruise. And I will tell you that that was the coldest summer I ever spent in my entire life. Anyway, so I was looking for a host, someone who had was jazz but had international who uh knew people and around the world, not just not just an American. And I asked like 12 people. 11 of them mentioned Marcus Miller. Okay. So I fly out to LA, go into his studio and we're just talking and he said, "So I get to pick everybody on the ship". I said, "Yeah". He said, "And what's the budget?". And I said, 'Well, almost whatever you want. He says, "Okay, we'll do this." That was about it.

Marcus Miller: Okay, man. We had McCoy Tiner, we had Herby Hancock, we had John Scoffield, we had

Michael Lazaroff: Roy Harrove.

Marcus Miller: Roy Harrove. I know I came close to the edge of the budget. But it was completely worth it for me because it was just an incredible experience. Yeah.

Michael Lazaroff: Do you remember Herby Hancock requires a certain kind of piano?

Marcus Miller: Absolutely. a Fazioli and we're I mean we're way out. Um McCoy Tanner does not play a Fazioli. Herby was on first and we had the Fazioli on. Okay, which by the way is incredibly expensive to have on a ship. The worst part is the insurance.

Michael Lazaroff: because there aren't that many of them and if you mess one up,

Marcus Miller: Yeah.

Michael Lazaroff: you're in trouble. So McCoy Tarter comes on the cruise and goes to the piano. He goes, "I guess Herby was here first".

Marcus Miller: That's right. He's like, "Is Herby on this thing? I hate these fasiolis".

Michael Lazaroff: And he was grumpy the entire rest of the ship.

Marcus Miller: I had my head down. I'm sorry, Mr. Tiner. You know, wow.

Michael Lazaroff: Gregory's been on a couple of our cruises. First time hosting. He's the perfect host, isn't he? Terrific person. personality. We love having him and it took us a while to get him onto a ship. Like like all of the big stars takes a while to get that done. So what was your first impression?

Gregory Porter:  Well, um well, I like I particularly like festivals because there's a there's a village that's created uh from the music day after day. Three or four days of this village that's artificially created and it absolutely happened on every boat that I've been on there they're this this village is created and um yeah it just starts to be this kind of soulful and you start feel like it's a community in a way and uh so that's pretty amazing and that's a part that I I enjoy. Sometimes I'm a very uh patient person with the fans and uh you I sometimes I don't really like that word the fans but just you know soulful people that love music and uh and so sometimes when I'm walking down the hallway and I I'm supposed to be on stage and somebody asked for a picture and I like but I got to go. Okay. Okay. Come on. Let's do it. And we take we take the picture and I'm hate to be to be on the stage, you know, I'm like, what what's both of them are important, you know,

Marcus Miller: right?

Gregory Porter:  And and so yeah,

Marcus Miller: that is difficult. We

Gregory Porter:  That's why Alonzo says, "At least at least know how to work your phone". That's what Alonzo keeps saying. Yeah.

Marcus Miller: Have we ever figured out how many cruises you've hosted?

Michael Lazaroff: I know how many different cruises he hosted. The

Playboy Yeah, that's right.

Smooth jazz. That's right.

This.

Yes.

Yeah. And a couple other cruises that we haven't thought of yet.

Marcus Miller: And we did the Patty Leel Michael McDonald cruise. That was

Wow. That was

Wow, man. And Patty, I interviewed Patty after her performance and she had this beautiful dress on. I said, "We have some chairs for you now, Patty". Right after she finished her last song, I said, "Have a seat". She said, "Marcus, this is not a sitdown dress". I even know that there were two types of dresses, you know.

Yeah.

So, she said, "You're going to have to help me". And I had to help. She was like,

"Okay, what do you want to know?" Yeah.

She was fantastic. She was fantastic. So many so many stories that happened on the ship and all of a sudden you don't realize how much how many experiences you're having and then all of a sudden, you know, Michael and I will start talking and we can just story after story. I think I told you guys about the Joe Sample cursing the band out story in the middle of a concert.

Gregory Porter:  Did I tell you that, Gregory?

Marcus Miller: No. No.

Oh, you got to hear, man. Joe's playing and it's a smooth jazz. So, in smooth jazz, they have a house band and different artists come and they're young musicians, you know, they they they're great musicians, but they haven't been around like the old school cats, right?

So, Joe in the middle of a song in front of the entire audience stops and says, "Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, But these gentlemen have to understand that when I count off a specific tempo, they have to play the tempo I require. And also, they're playing like they're waiting for the singer to come in. There ain't no singer. You see my right hand? This is your singer, right?

And and the the the musicians are like, "What?". And you know, he was he was not missing words.

Yeah.

And uh I tell everybody I came on to sit in with Joe when he resumed Boomed and I realized that the iced tea on this piano was not iced tea.

Okay, there you go.

And it's just so many experiences like that. And your your village uh uh description is is perfect because so many people have been on the cruise multiple times, you know, and they know the music.

You know, you'll hear people shouting out uh details. You know, I just came from John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton. The questions were on a whole another level, you know. Wow.

Like on some some cruises, you know, who are you thinking about when you when you sing your song, you know, like but these people were like, well, when you arrange the trumpets down to the alto saxopones and you drop down and John Clayton was like, whoa, okay, hold on, let me think about that one. So, uh, it's just a bunch of wonderful experiences.

Michael Lazaroff: Yeah. Who inspired you vocally?

Gregory Porter:  Um, well, The the the interesting thing uh is you know when you get that question particularly when you get it in the media you have to come up with names what that everybody knows, right

you know uh nobody knows Pastor Ted Johnson nobody knows you know these these these in a way archetypical uh singers local singers that I that I grew up with and they you know Pastor Richardson but you know, Pastor Richardson if just to give you an idea, he sounded like Sam Cook. So,

I could say Sam Cook, but it was actually Pastor Richardson. You know, he used to, you know, um, uh, he used to sing um, well, his, you know, he had a like a number one hit in the town, you know, people would come to his church just to hear that number one hit. It wasn't a number one hit on any, it was just his song, you know, the way he sang it,

men, women, and children would flock to the church just to hear that song. And um yeah uh so there's a whole bunch of just like regular folk that inspire me, but without question uh Nat King Cole. Um Natkin Cole. Yeah, I I like to say that I I I think about the music that's in between Nat King Cole and Donnie Hathaway, you know, two very different people, two very different uh uh approach. is to to music and and and expressing but from the same culture uh trying to do the same thing uh touching people striking to the heart with music. Yeah. So those Yeah. Those Yeah.

Michael Lazaroff: Those are two fantastic ones and we hear that in your voice too.

Yeah.

Marcus Miller: We hear that but not an imitation.

Gregory Porter:  No.

Marcus Miller: Right. Not an imitation. I mean a lot of people you know they they make their living reminding you of some great artists, but it's really difficult to find your own sound, but you've absolutely done that. So, you know, when I introduce you, you know, I named the singers that you remind me of, Nat King Cole, of course, and I'll put Bill Withers in there. Um, but it's almost unfair because you're you you know what I mean? And we're already having people who are influenced by Gregory Porter. How about that? So, that's a that's a real thing, you know?

Michael Lazaroff: and his impact and his attractiveness to guests. I've I've got one story we talked a couple years ago about him performing in Las Vegas. Okay. So, we get a theater, very large theater, and I asked the people that were running the theater, I said, "Tell you what, let's just do a co Bro, that means that means we share. And they said, "Well, it's a jazz guy and all this kind of stuff". I said, "We got this one".

So, they weren't sure about

Oh, no. Completely sold out on an August Friday in Las Vegas and he killed it. It was one of the best shows I've ever seen in in my life.

The opener we gave some some middle of the road comic a shot. Okay. And Alonzo really did a good job. You are so going to pay for that one.

Marcus Miller: Yeah. He going he going to go deep on that.

Michael Lazaroff: Yeah. Uh I was about to say, don't tell Alonzo it's too late, man.

You know, there's a lot of really great comics in the world and some can swim.

Oh man. Hey, I'm move I'm moving away a little bit.

So, how many cruises do you think you've done?

Marcus Miller: I wanted say maybe 30.

Michael Lazaroff: 30 and

we added up Alonszo Bowden and it's a few more than that even. Okay. So, um we rely pretty heavily on those two guys. They are they are part of our team and part of our family. And the really cool thing is when an artist and a Gregory's done it faster than any understands what we're trying to do. Okay. And then participates because it isn't intuitive. Oh yeah. I meet everybody before they come on the cruise. I fly out to LA to meet him. First time he pulls up in the biggest motorcycle I've ever seen in my whole life. It had a bathroom. It had a bedroom. It had a spa. It was great. But anyway, where do you go from here?

Gregory Porter:  Uh I have a uh yeah, I have a show in uh in Los Angeles and then I then I'm up to Napa and then we're at Monteray. jazz festival. So, I'm keeping And in between that, I have to fly to to London to do, uh, a song for a movie that, uh, Kate Winslett is, uh, is is doing.

Michael Lazaroff: Sweet.

Gregory Porter:  But, uh, you see, yeah. So, I don't know how I'm going to do all of this, but it's on the schedule. We'll see what happens.

Michael Lazaroff: So, do you do a lot of movie work?

Gregory Porter:  Um, you know, it's funny. Not a lot a lot, but um, I've I've had uh a few of my songs have I've written a few songs to to that that you know to get into movies in in Europe um and on you know Netflix movies but uh yeah uh a couple of pretty good little blockbusters they have me playing way underneath so you can't you can barely hear it but but I I was in um uh Fantastic Beast. Uh oh wow yeah and and then um Avengers.

Yeah. So they they were you know pretty great movies and Yeah. So it was you know it's great.

I keep doing it. Yeah.

Michael Lazaroff: Why don't you talk about your movie efforts of Mr. Miller?

Marcus Miller: Um, let's see. The first one I did, uh, I had been I was working with Miles. It was in the 80s and Miles Davis. I have to keep doing that cuz then I sound like a Hollywood dude calling everybody by their first names. But working with Miles Davis and uh, some uh, movie producer uh, was doing a movie that was filmed in Spain and they had used Miles's classic album Sketches of Spain as the soundtrack, as a temporary soundtrack because they wanted something that sounded uh current, up todate, but they wanted that flavor. So, they called Miles and said, "Uh, would you be interested in creating a score for this movie?". And Miles said, "Yes.". And they said, "Here's a number you call.". And it was my number. And they they said, "Listen, we just need two pieces of music, okay? Uh to feature in the film". So I worked on these two pieces of music, had Miles come in, it was a beautiful experience. Played it for the the director and she said, "Okay, now listen for the next scene.". And I said, "Wait, am I scoring this a whole movie?". And she said, "Yeah, Miles didn't tell you.". I said, "Miles won't tell me nothing, you know.". But um I I called Miles and said, "Is this what I should be doing?". He said, "Absolutely.". So uh and I said, "When is the movie done in uh due?". And they said, "In two and a half weeks".

Michael Lazaroff: Oh Lord.

Marcus Miller: Now usually I mean uh I just did I did you know that Eddie Murphy um Christmas movie that was out uh last year? Well, we started a year ahead of that. So that's how long it usually takes. Two and a half weeks. So I I locked myself in a studio in LA and didn't come out. When I did come out, I look like a vampire, you know.

But can I just tell you one quick story about that? It's it's a um Spanish flavored uh movie. So the last scene and all the things that have happened in this movie, they have to kind of kind of um they have to coalesce in the in at the end of the movie. So, this piece of music kind of helps explain the crazy stuff that you've been seeing all movie. Okay. So, I'm writing something and director says, "Nah, no, that's not quite what I need.". And I write another one and she says, "No.". And I'm up to like version five and I'm still not getting her what she wants. And she's a director. She's not a musician. So, it's hard for her to explain what she's looking for. You know, directors say I need it to be more orange and stuff like that. Stuff that, you know, like that doesn't really help me, you know. Anyway, I'm up to version five and I'm striking out. So, I I drive out to Miles's house and I say, "Man, I'm I I called him first. I said, "Man, I'm striking out on this very last scene.". He said, "Come up here. Come up to the house.". So, I come up to the house and he's having a party, right? So, I walk in and there's all these people, you know, kind of partying and he takes me to to another room and locks me in the room with a cassette player of Spanish music.

Gregory Porter:  Oh, really?

Marcus Miller: Yeah. So, I'm sitting there and I'm listening and Miles says, "All I know is after about 45 minutes, I just see Marcus run out of the run out of the room and jump back in his car because all of a sudden I thought I had it.". And I played it for the director. First, I had Miles come play on it. Miles played this high note that I said, "I don't know if this works or not, but it sounds cool to me.". We put it up against the film and on the very ass look that she gives that explains everything. Miles hit this high note, you know, and I turned to her and she's just completely in tears. She She's like, "Oh, I don't know how you did it.". And Miles said, "Well, you know, and I didn't say I didn't say a word because he's so magical that somehow he stuck me in a room and it and it and it hit me.". So, uh, when we were in London, he, uh, we were doing a concert and he wasn't feeling so good and he um he was playing he had been playing only 45 minutes. You know, the concert is usually, you know, an hour and a half. And the the word had gotten out to the British promoter and the British promoter told Miles's agent, "We're not going to pay him unless he plays at least 45 minutes". Miles sometimes he had been playing 20 minutes and then leaving because he was just come back. He didn't have the strength. So anyway, we're playing in London and sure enough, 20 minutes in, he goes, "I'm done". And he walks off the stage and I see the backstage door. I literally see him get in the car. So, he's gone and I'm like, you know, I'm the youngest guy in the band. So, we all get off and the manager comes to me and said, "Marcus, you got to get those guys back on on the stage. We need 20 more minutes". I said, "Miles is gone. Get them on the I'm the youngest guy in the Why you telling me?" Right? So, we get on the stage and we just jam for 20 minutes and then we stop and we get out of there and we're on the plane the next day and I'm reading the newspaper. And I'm expecting them to really like just tear into Miles, you know. It says only Miles Davis could leave halfway through the set and have his aura permeate the room. And I said, "This is some BS, man." Right? So, I'm sitting I'm sitting here and Miles is sitting in front of me on the plane in the seat directly in front of me. So, I I hand him the newspaper and he reads, he goes, "That's right". I said, "You are unbelievable, man." You know, anyway, back to the film. Um, after we did that, a a gentleman named Reginald Huddlin had just graduated from film school. Um, and he uh he he had done a short his senior thesis is a small a short movie and he got picked up the movie got picked up by New Line Cinema. It was a hip-hop movie called uh House Party, right? Yeah, that featured Kid and Play and Reginald came up to me and said, "I want you to do the score.". And I said, "I don't have a lot of experience.". He said, "You'll be fine.". So, we uh we did our thing on that one and that was a big hit. Then we did Eddie Murphy's Boomerang and that kind of got me started and I've been that's been my day job for like the last 30 years, you know.

Yeah. Marshall. Yeah. Anybody see Marshall? Chadwick Boseman. He did the the story of Third Good Marshall and that was one that was uh we were able to do a jazz score because it took place in 1939. So um uh I was able to use uh the Lincoln Center orchestra to play on that and I called Winton. and you know it was always crazy because Wint and I are are real tight you know we've been buddies for a long time but went Winton and Miles that wasn't such an easy right

relationship. So uh I called Winon I said look man I need you to play on distur Marshall thing and he said of course. And when I tried to to get his information so I could pay him, he refused payment. He allowed me to use the Lincoln. There's a studio in Lincoln Center. He he allowed me to use the studio in Lincoln Center. So, in my mind, there's Winton kind of paying Miles back and saying, "Okay, you know, maybe uh I shouldn't have criticized you as much as I did, you know, because".

Michael Lazaroff: which is a perfect segue into Thank you for getting me. into a into a commercial break. They will be the host of A Journey of Jazz 27.

Marcus Miller: Very excited and we're going to New Orleans.

Michael Lazaroff: And just like we give comics a break sometimes. Okay. We're giving a trumpeter a break. It'll be the first time ever that Winton Marcales will be performing in New Orleans.

Gregory Porter:  Wow. Wow.

Michael Lazaroff: Wait, is that true?

Oh, no. No, I'm joking about that. No, but he's part of the cruise. Okay. And he'll be our host when we're in New Orleans. We're going to build it around him. And so that that is that is really exciting news for us. So now the real question that I know all of you are asking, when are you going to start creating music for Mr. Porter here?

Marcus Miller: Wow. I would love to create some music for Mr. Porter.

Gregory Porter:  Mhm.

Yeah.

She's she's going

Yeah. Well, the thing is is it's, you know, Mark Marcus um the the name of the cruise is, you know, the journey of jazz and and and I I I joke about it, but Marcus really is the the the journey. He's been in so many rooms with so many important people and they made so much important music that uh it really is something. Um, and outside of the the jazz world, but influenced by jazz. I think of just just, you know, if I could just touch the hymn of the garment of Luther Vandross, right?

Marcus Miller: He was in the room. All those I'm just I'm It's actually crazy.

Gregory Porter:  All of the the music that I went to to, you know, I just laid my head down, looked up at the ceiling, and dreamed. you with the baseline on. That's insane. You know, all of that.

Marcus Miller: Yeah, man.

Gregory Porter:  Wow.

You know, because once I once I you know, once my voice was was getting together, once I got past maybe 12 years old, I was like, "Oh, there's something there, you know".

Marcus Miller: And that sound good.

Gregory Porter:  Right. Right. And that's when I So, I started to to to to to vocalize to Luther Vandrol's records, you know, and I was like, um, I was like, "Dang, that's so soulful." You know, and it was this cat, man.

Yeah. So, yeah.

Marcus Miller: I tell you, I'll tell you, there's not that many singers once Luther was gone.

I had trouble.

Yeah. You

know, cuz everyone was calling me, "Why don't you produce so and so?". And

you know, it's difficult. But I would love to work with Gregory Porter because he's the real.

Gregory Porter:  Absolutely.

Y'all heard it here.

Marcus Miller: No. Absolutely.

Y'all heard it here cuz personally I began with you with your songs.

Mhm.

And I love your songs.

Yeah.

But when you sing a standard Yeah. a song that I've heard sung by 30 other people, that's when I feel like, oh my god, this guy is so good.

Because when it's your songs, you're kind of listening to your song. Yeah.

You're not really listening necessarily to you. Does that make any sense what

Gregory Porter:  I understand. Yeah.

Marcus Miller: Okay. Okay. Cuz I when he sings a standard Did you hear him see my my funny Valentine on that?

Michael Lazaroff: I believe that's the single most recorded song ever.

Marcus Miller: Really?

Michael Lazaroff: Yeah. It if not the most one of the top top three. Everybody sings My Funny Valentine. Okay.

My wife sings My Funny Valentine. looking at me. And uh anyway, but when you sing those standards, man, oh man.

Gregory Porter:  Yeah.

Yeah. I think um I I enjoy touching back uh on on something that everybody knows. I love it in a way because uh the song is so ubiquitous and it's been around for so long, everybody knows it. And and that's a way to bring it's it's another community builder, you know. Yes.

Which is which is what the blues is in in in a way. You get on stage and a bunch of musicians will get together. Okay, let's jam on the blues, right?

It's a way we can quickly become get together.

Marcus Miller: Yeah.

Gregory Porter:  And uh quite frankly, that's what

you I I I promise you if you ask a bunch of musicians what what are they trying to do ultimately?

And it's try to get together. Let's you know, community. It's like get together for rehearsal, get together for the gig. Yeah.

Get people together and gather around us to hear some music. The whole thing is community building. That's what It is.

Marcus Miller: Yeah.

Yeah.

And that's and that's a uh a problem these days because there's a lot of young musicians who because of social media and the internet, they're learning everything in their bedroom, right?

Except how to

communicate, be part of a group and communicate.

Yeah.

Yeah. So, they're going to have to figure it out cuz,

you know, they're going to come out of their bedroom one day and realize that I can't just play what I want. I have to play something that's appropriate.

Gregory Porter:  Yeah.

Marcus Miller: In relation to what the other people are doing, you know, and that's going to be a big issue for them, you know.

Gregory Porter:  That's one of the reasons that I love jazz. You can't play jazz by yourself. You have to be on a band stand. You have to share the band stand. You have to respect the band stand. Everybody gets to to do what they do. And the only thing that matters is can you do it?

Marcus Miller: Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, Sullivan for He doesn't really need a band, does he? I mean, he's an orchestra by himself, but he's still it's it's very still very important for him to play as part of a group. And then when you see him with Cecile, then you realize, oh, this is a whole another level, you know.

Yeah.

Michael Lazaroff: Great.

So, when will the first record be out? Because I want

Gregory Porter:  Wow. It's coming out on Michael Lazeroff Records.

Yeah.

You know, you know, if The the funny thing is is I mean maybe you're joking, but even just No, no, no. But listen, listen.

Even just planting the seed is inspiring.

What would I do if I was if I was about to get into the studio with Marcus Miller?

How how how would I write? I mean, that's already inspiring something in me, you know? So, that's that's uh

Yeah.

Michael Lazaroff: Gregory, what what um what what Luther song um sticks in your head? Luther song.

Gregory Porter:  Yeah.

Oh man.

No.

I I didn't mean to do all that. I'm sorry.

You want me to sing it?

You know, it's funny. You know, I I I I listen to Luther on on on a tape, right? And um so when I would when I hear and even to this day, when I hear a Luther song on the radio on the tape, it had a sequence, right? And so if I heard if I heard, you know, if only for one night, let me take you home, you know. So So

Michael Lazaroff: I just got chills with those five words.

Gregory Porter:  So So if you hear If only for one night, you know, the the next song that comes in, you think the next song on the radio is going to be another Luther song.

Marcus Miller: Right. Right. Cuz you're so used to listening to

Gregory Porter:  Right. Right. So you think it's going to be boom, boom, you know, whatever. Whatever it's going to be.

Marcus Miller: Matter of fact, in his concerts. He after that exact song, he would do Stevie Wonder's Creeping cuz that's right.

Cuz that's how it was on the record.

Yeah.

And and it's almost like they go together.

Yeah.

So he felt the same thing.

And and when we started the Stevie song, he go, "That's right. Just like the record".

Gregory Porter:  Record, not record.

Marcus Miller: Record. Record. Yeah. Amazing.

Do you remember um If This World Were Mine?

Gregory Porter:  Yeah.

Marcus Miller: That's a Marvin Gay song. first.

Yeah.

But the thing about Luther is he he he'll do your song and and take your song from you.

Gregory Porter:  Right. Right.

Right.

Well, it it's it's the shocking thing to find out that, you know, it's like when you when I was hearing those songs, I was like I I thought I thought it was I thought I always thought it was his. And then and then you go back, it's like, oh, there's a there's a Dion Warwick and oh, and then there's Bert Bakarak and then, you know, so it's it's really it it opens you up to a whole world. And I have to say I don't know he he must have you would know but I know that he loved jazz. I can I can just

Marcus Miller: he loved uh jazz through Artha Franklin.

Yeah.

Because Artha Franklin was presented to the world originally as a as a jazz singer. She played the piano plays it beautifully and she sang and and the word was there's this new jazz singer Artha Franklin. I remember Herby Herby Hancock saying you know we all had to go check her out. And then, you know, she made the mistake of singing one soul song.

Yeah.

And that was the end of her jazz career, you know.

But up until then, you know, she'd be that her thing.

Gregory Porter:  This is amazing. Yeah.

Marcus Miller: And Luther loved that. Yeah.

Gregory Porter:  Yeah. That's cool.

Marcus Miller: And he did the carpenters. Luther covered the Carpenters.

Yeah.

Um, superstar. Yeah. Don't you remember? You told me you love me, baby.

So,

somebody should have covered the Carpenters. That's beautiful stuff, man.

Michael Lazaroff: Any questions out there? We'll take a couple. Yes.

Audience Member 1 Oh, thank you. You have such a breath of work. How is technology changing the music and jazz?

Marcus Miller: Um, you guys heard the question. How is technology changing uh music,

particularly jazz. Well, um I don't know what you think, Gregory. I know that it's it's a it's like most things with technology, there's pluses and minuses. One of the things is that musicians don't feel compelled to play with each other as much as they used to. So, that's a negative side. But the positive side is you don't have to depend on a record company for people to be able to hear your music, you know. Um Yeah. I mean, EMTT, what's EMTT's at EMTT's place? The the the the podcast that EMTT does on Mondays.

Every Monday, you know, he just brings cameras into his into his house and he has these great musicians come in and everyone is exposed to him and that thing really has propelled him to another level and he didn't have to depend on anyone except his buddy who had a camera, you know. So, uh I think that the exposure is really a a benefit.

Gregory Porter:  How about you vocalist? Um yeah, I think uh sometimes the idea of perfection is can be wrong in in music. I think um our humanity is expressed in certain things in the voice. Um I I just think about my first record and uh I remember um you know I brought it back to to to to the label and they were like, "Well, okay, we're going to straighten out this part of your voice and that little thing you did here". But I was like, you know, at at some point I was like, you know, you just leave the pimples. It's okay. It really is. It'll be all right.

So, this idea of just, you know, some people like adjust my tone. No, no, you should sound your tone should sound like your tone is.

Sometimes you go and see a person that you've been enjoying. Now, jazz is less guilty of it, but you know, other other genres may do it more, but uh some times you go to hear a person and they don't really sound like the record.

Marcus Miller: Right. Right.

Gregory Porter:  And um you know so I I I do like that that that you know I I do get a statement sometimes that I sound better than the record you know which which is a live.

Yeah.

But I think you know what that this is a point to that is that when I'm in front of people there's a different sort of energy. There's a there's a I feel your energy and and and that fuels you know know what goes through me and so that's what it is. So if I have more you know if there if it's if there's more I don't know rocket fuel it's because you are the rocket fuel you know. So yeah

Marcus Miller: from a producers's point of view I get tapes all the time. Hire this person. Hire that person. I would never hire anyone without seeing them because what they can do on a tape if you think that that's what it's going to be on stage. Sometimes it is, most of the time it's not. Okay. And so it is completely different. So from that point of view, I dislike all of this because I mean it it's like white out, you know, when you're typing a white out, they white out stuff that

was supposed to be there.

Yeah.

Well, if you um happens a lot in pop music. Okay. If the person has the right look and the right personality, then we'll make you sound good. And the technology is to a point now where I can pick any of you guys and just say, I want you to sing this song with as much feeling as you have. Okay? I know you can't sing at all. Don't worry. And I can give you I can give you uh uh that version what you sang a week later and you'll actually think that you're a singer. You know right

what happened was that um back in the 1940s 50s60s the artists would go into the studio they would learn the song have it ready to go. studio time was very very expensive and you had a big band. Frank Sinatra I played on the Frank Sinatra record right he we rehearsed huge studio he came in sang the song twice and said okay thank you gentlemen. right these days you get a pop singer, Michael, they come in and the band records, sometimes not even a band, sometimes it's just a guy with a laptop. And then when it's time for the lead vocal, they say, "Okay, so we're going to um we're going to work on the vocal next week all week". So the singer comes in and sings the song five or six times every day for a week, and then the producer goes and takes this word from that performance, that word from that performance. It's it's incredible what we can do now. That was that was 20 years ago. Now you can have the song. I can sing it. I can go into my uh my software and say uh oh, make me sound like Seal, right?

And press the seal button and it'll sound like Seal. The problem is don't let me get a hit record cuz then I got to go on a Tonight Show, right?

A couple of people got caught like that. you know, where the the machine broke, the the the recording that they were lip-syncing to.

Yeah.

It broke and they got caught out there nationwide live TV. So, um

uh that deception thing is is uh is really attractive, but it's really in the end I think it's doing damage to music, you know. and I I I can't I'm really proud that you instinctively it never even occurred to you to fix what you call the pimples. It never even occurred to you. You were like, "Look, what I have is important, you know".

Gregory Porter:  Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, just just to have a just an organic organic expression. Yeah. That's, you know, I don't know.

Marcus Miller: Not everybody can do that, though.

Gregory Porter:  Yeah. Yeah. I understand. Yeah.

Marcus Miller: So, I'm going to put I'm going to produce Gregory Porter: . I'm going to press the seal button to see.

Gregory Porter:  Hey, have Greg. Gregory, I I mixed it. It sounds great. Come on and check it out.

Marcus Miller: Have you go, okay, Marcus, you are so fired. You know, We have a question here.

Michael Lazaroff: One more.

Audience Member 2 Okay. The seed has been planted. So, we're all looking for that record. That's number one.

Okay.

The question is actually for Gregory, but it builds on the story that Marcus told about being stuck writing that last song and had to go to Miles and all that and how you overcome. So, the question to Gregory is tell us a little bit about your creative process, right? When what inspires you to write a song, but When do you remember really getting stuck on writing a song and how did you get out of it?

Gregory Porter:  Um I think uh well just to talk about my my process is something something that moves me. It has to be something that that moves me and there are many things that move me off of oftentimes is cruelty. uh cruelty can can create something beautiful and thinking of the the uh the equal and opposite energy. uh to cruelty. Um but um I was just thinking and and and and thinking back in my life and what were the most profound and watershed moments in my life. Uh trying to find a way to put that into melody, synthesize that into something that that's, you know, listenable. Um you know, think of a song like Take Me to the Alley, which you know, um I knew you were going to say that.

It's it's for me it's a it's a it's a you know, let me just speak the lyric. Well, they gild their houses in preparation for the king and they line the sidewalks with every short sort of shiny thing. But they will be surprised when they hear his majesty say, "Take me to the alley. Take me to the afflicted ones. To the lonely ones, to the hungry ones that somehow lost their way. Let them hear me say, "As the king, I am your friend. Come to my table. Rest here in my garden. You will have a pardon". Right.

Woo. Woo.

So,

I was trying to find a way to express how my mother lived her life. And she started these storefront churches. We we were we I grew up and I used to be in one of those big churches were, you know, and and God bless them. They're doing they're doing miraculous things saving souls as well. But the pastor had a big Cadillac. It was a, you know, all the pomp and circumstance and my mother was like, "Well, where are the where are the lost people? Where are the hungry people? Where are the where are those people?". You know, so she would get she would have these little storefront churches and in the Church of God in Christ, you women are weren't allowed to be the leader of the church. So they were never it never called it it was it was she it was a mission. She called it was called you know it was called a mission and then she could be the head of the mission missionary Ruth.

And so in her little church and her little missions she made it a point to that the those buildings would be in the worst part of town, in the worst places. Uh she would set the PA out onto the street. So I would so when I would sing, my voice would go to the drug addict and to the prostitute and to the hungry people. And so this is my mother's life. She was like, let's go to the alley and see who and what we can find. and who and what we could help, you know. Yeah.

Yes. Yes.

And so, so listen, you're talking about being in a block. So, yes, I'm listening to to all, you know, other people's records and, you know, and I'm like, "Oh, okay. How can I get me a Baby Baby song?". And I was like, "You know what? You know, yeah, I Yes. I love being sexy, too. But, you know, all day long being sexy, I can't do it. That's not really me, right? So, so I was like I was like, what are how do I like to express myself? I like to express myself in wi with love, but the wider meaning of love. And so, that's the direction I went. And so, I started to think of love and love songs. but love songs, univer universal love songs.

And so that's what Take Me to the Alley is. And that's what When Love is King is. That's what it is. Um, how long did it take you to finish your lyric to take me to the alley?

Um, it didn't take it didn't take long. Uh, I had to edit because too many too many things many examples um of of of you know of I and and because because I want I like to make I have to edit myself and I like the brevity of the blues. I'm constantly trying to come to the brevity of the blues to have a you know an impact and not give people just a ton of information. Just just catch this groove.

Marcus Miller: Say the most in the most succinct way.

Gregory Porter:  Yes. And ride on that. ride on that. You know, what does that mean?

Take me to the alley. I'm so I'm encouraging people to just think about people and it ain't got to be somebody who's laying on the ground. You know that it now that's the kind of thing my mother would do. You have to have you have to have a a calling on your life and conviction on your life to be searching for the for the prostitute. Not to use that prostitute, but to help her. You have to be a certain type of person to that has a radar for the drug addict that's out of their mind, you know, and that's what she used to do. And she would take those people and put them in the front seat of our used Cadillac.

Yeah.

Marcus Miller: Wow.

Gregory Porter:  And and you know, I I I told a story. I don't know if I told it on another cruise. I used to sit in the back of my mother's car, you know, she got some she talked some man out of a a deal on this white El Dorado with this with this with this uh you know, burgundy leather interior. So, I'm sitting in the back seat. I'm s I'm sitting in the back seat thinking acting trying act like I'm a star, right?

And I I found these, you know, these mirrored glasses and I'm sitting back there and I'm acting like my mother is a chauffeur. We're actually driving down the street that I'm referring to and take me to the alley. The alley is a is a street on my in my city called the road. It's not really called the road. It's called Lake View Avenue, but everybody calls it the road, but it is the alley. So, we're actually driving down the alley in Bakersfield, California, and And I think I'm a star in the back seat. My mother is the chauffeur. And I'm I remember feeling this. And I had my arm on the armrest that's in the back seat. And I was like, "Yeah, you know, I remember feeling this.". And she pulls the car over and there was somebody. It was a hot day in Bakersfield and it gets 1045 degrees there all day long. And there was a man that was laying on the ground and his skin was just his flesh was was laying on this hot pavement. and he had urinated on himself and uh he had one leg and um and my mother pulled the car over and she she was a big strong woman and and she picked him up and and dripping and she put him in the front seat of the car and uh she drove him to the house and And uh he stayed with us for a couple of weeks. He got she got him cleaned up and uh but she was she would do stuff like that. And you have to have a particular calling on your life in order to do that. I'm not suggesting that you know this was the safest thing to do. I'm not she but but she was prayed up and she prayed over her children and that's what she did and this is the life we experienced. And so that's what I'm kind of only in some small way express in the music. So so if you hear I talked about last night in in this maybe the second show. I was like often times there's an energy and there's a power behind the music that I'm not telling the audience. The energy and power behind a lot of my music is the memories of my mother and I'm expressing them in like I I sang Moon River last night. 

She's the fuel behind that.

You know, when I get to the part that's like uh we're after the same rainbows in You know, I I I think it's just, you know, me and her, you know, so yeah, there you go.

Marcus Miller: Wow.

Gregory Porter: Yes. Yes. Yeah.

Michael Lazaroff: Signature Cruise Experiences prides itself on bringing the finest musicians in the world. Not only do we have two of them here tonight, but two of the most wonderful men that I've ever met. Thoughtful, brilliant, caring, and that's what makes this music great. Yeah. Thank you all very much, and please enjoy the rest of the day. Thank you.

Host Lee Mergner (Closing Remarks): Now, that was an interesting conversation, right? Those three have so much history together and and they also have great stories, too. Marcus and Gregory return as the co-hosts for the 2027 edition of Journey of Jazz. It sales January 24th through the 31st, departing from Tampa and then spending two days in the birthplace of Jazz New Orleans. And then it goes on to Progresso in the Caribbean. Speaking of New Orleans, although the announcement of the lineup is coming soon, as you heard during this session, Wynton Marasalis will be performing for our guests while we're in New Orleans. Sign up for updates at journeyofjazz.com. Thanks as always to Marcus for providing our theme music with a clip from his song High Life on his album Aphrodesia. on Blue Note. Thanks to Brian Ratchkco and his production team for capturing this and so many talks from the journey of jazz cruise. So don't forget to subscribe to this Jazz Cruise's conversations podcast, iTunes, Spotify, wherever you get them. Uh then you won't miss a single episode and you know we've got an incredible back catalog of more than 100 interviews from past sailings. Next week, we'll feature my interview from Journey of Jazz with the Brubeck brothers who talk about the life and legacy of their father Dave Brubeck. Thanks for listening.