Marcus Miller remembers recording with Frank Sinatra for L.A. Is My Lady and the old-school discipline of a session where the singer could deliver a finished performance in just two takes.
by Paul Cashmere
Marcus Miller’s extraordinary career as a bassist, composer and producer has placed him in studios with Miles Davis, Luther Vandross, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Elton John and Frank Sinatra. In an interview with Noise11.com, Miller reflected on one of the most significant sessions of his career, recording Sinatra’s 1984 album L.A. Is My Lady, and the very different working methods he encountered across decades of studio work.
The Sinatra session came during Miller’s years as one of New York’s highly sought-after studio musicians. He was recruited by Quincy Jones for the album, which Jones produced and conducted, and found himself in a room filled with some of the leading musicians of the era, including George Benson and Lionel Hampton.
For Miller, however, the most revealing part of the experience was watching Sinatra work.
“Frank Sinatra was old school,” Miller told Noise11.com. “You got the song together. You came into the studio with the musicians. You sang it once, maybe sang it twice, and that was it.”
The approach stood in stark contrast to the increasingly edited recording process that became common in later decades, where vocal performances could be assembled from multiple takes.
“We rehearsed the music and then Frank came in, sang it twice, sounded like Frank Sinatra, and that was it,” Miller recalled.
Miller had already experienced very different studio environments. His career began as a session musician, where he could receive a call telling him only the studio and time, with no indication of the artist until he walked through the door.
That unpredictability exposed him to an extraordinary range of music and artists.
When Miller received the call to work on Sinatra’s L.A. Is My Lady, the significance of the session was immediately apparent. Security was present at the studio, something Miller said was unusual in his experience.
“The only session I ever did where, when I got off the elevator on the floor that the studio was on, there were guys saying, ‘What’s your name?’ on a checklist,” he said. “I said, ‘This really is a Frank Sinatra record.’ They got security.”
Once inside, however, the focus returned to the music.
The album brought together a large ensemble under Jones, with Miller among the bass players. George Benson played guitar and Hampton contributed vibraphone, while Sinatra supplied the vocals. The recording was made at a time when studio musicians were expected to arrive prepared, rehearse efficiently and deliver performances without the extensive editing now associated with many productions.
Miller contrasted that discipline with the modern recording process, where singers may spend days recording multiple versions before producers construct a final performance from selected sections.
“Studio time was super expensive back then,” Miller said. “So they didn’t have time for the singer to spend all day in the studio trying to get a good take. You walked in there prepared.”
That experience was particularly striking because of the other studio personalities Miller encountered.
He remembered Donald Fagen’s meticulous approach on The Nightfly, arriving with stories of Steely Dan’s reputation for perfectionism only to discover that his own bass parts required just two performances.
Billy Idol’s sessions offered a different atmosphere, although Miller said his involvement was limited to adding bass to an existing track.
His most consequential creative partnership was with Miles Davis. Miller first joined Davis as a 21-year-old bassist before moving towards composition and production. That relationship eventually led to Miller writing and producing much of the material for Davis’ 1986 album Tutu, including the title track.
The lessons from Davis also shaped Miller’s approach to playing. “Miles was a master at just that, using space,” Miller said, explaining how Davis could stop playing and allow the music around him to breathe before returning with a carefully chosen phrase.
Miller went on to establish his own recording career, beginning with Suddenly in 1983 and following it with Marcus Miller in 1984. He later described The Sun Don’t Lie as the point where his individual musical identity became clearer. His subsequent work has combined jazz, funk, soul and R&B while keeping the bass at the centre of his compositions.
Now Miller is bringing that catalogue and his interpretation of the Davis years to Australia. His April 2027 tour will visit Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. Current Australian listings confirm the five-city run, while Miller’s own tour page lists the Australian dates, with a discrepancy over the Perth date between the artist’s page and Australian promoter listings.
Miller told Noise11.com that the live show will draw from the Miles Davis repertoire while also representing his own music.
“We’ll do a couple of Miles things, but we’re going to give you the whole picture,” he said.
For an artist whose career has crossed jazz, R&B, pop and funk, the Australian shows will provide another chapter in a musical history that began in New York studios and included one particularly memorable encounter with Frank Sinatra.
Tour Dates
Tuesday, April 13, Perth, Riverside Theatre
Thursday, April 15, Brisbane, Fortitude Music Hall
Friday, April 16, Sydney, Enmore Theatre
Saturday, April 17, Melbourne, Palais Theatre
Sunday, April 18, Adelaide, Thebarton Theatre
Ticket Details
Tickets are on sale through Gerrard Allman Events. Marcus Miller Australian Tour Information
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