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Peter Muller : A Bassist With “The Flow”!
June 6, 2008 - Peter Muller, Peter…who? It is true that the name of the talented German bassist, multi-instrumentist, composer and producer Peter Muller may not sound as familiar to the smooth jazz aficionado as the one of bass giant Marcus Miller. However, you will rapidly change your mind when listening to Muller’s latest piece of work “The Flow” released in January 2008 on his own label, Mullenium Records. |
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You will get hooked to his punchy bass style flowing skilfully between funk, R&B, soul, contemporary, smooth and Nu Jazz. And you will notice that eventually Müller is not so far from Miller and that his amazing bass skills deserve more international recognition.
Akbar Nour : Hello Peter, good to talk to you and welcome to www.smoothjazznow.com. First of all, all my congratulations for your latest “flowing” CD, “The Flow”. It is not every day that we find out a top contemporary jazz bassist such as you and Germany is not the place where jazz music gets a huge audience. To tell you frankly, the main name that comes to my mind is the famous jazz label ECM, launched by Manfred Eicher in Munich in the 1970’s and bassist Eberhard Weber from Stuttgart who was also revealed by ECM. Otherwise, when it comes to smooth jazz music, Germany is not really well known, how comes? |
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Peter Muller : Hello, great to talk to you and answer your questions. I think that jazz listeners are a minority, everywhere in the world. But Germany’s jazz audience is much more conservative, a mixture of jazz and other styles like funk, hip hop, R&B or soul is often not regarded as “real jazz” and has less value for them. So it is not easy for the artists who play in this crossover genre. I have noticed for example that there are more requests for my CDs in the USA or in other European countries than in my homeland!
Akbar : You came in contact with jazz music through your father, who performed piano and acoustic bass, but not as a professional. Could you tell us more on that?
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Peter : Yes, he wasn't a professional musician, but he played regularly with several bands. I was just a child at the time, but sometimes I had the opportunity to watch him and his bands play. I think this had a great impact on my interest for bass and for music in general.
Akbar : Are there any musicians who influenced you when you were a teenager?
Peter : I heard all the funk stuff that was available here, especially the records where the bass was more upfront. The first bass player who influenced me was Mark King. His group Level 42 was very popular in Germany by the time I started to play bass, and because of him, I started to practice slapping. Doug Wimbish was also a big influence on my playing. I liked rap music and had all the Sugarhill recordings that he played on. The stuff was so funky. A little later, I discovered Marcus Miller. A recording which really changed my attitude towards music was Tutu by Miles Davis. I was maybe sixteen by that time, and from that moment on, I was sure that the mixture of jazz, funk, and other styles was the way I wanted to follow and make music. Another bass player I have always liked was Stanley Clarke because I was fascinated by how he approached the bass with a guitar-like attitude.
Akbar : Marcus Miller seems to be one of your main musical influences not only because he is “the” top bass player, but also in your style of playing. How would you describe it?
Peter : His playing covers a greater range of music and playing techniques. It sounds deeper and so soulful to me. He can play a badass groove as well as lead bass lines. It’s not easy to switch between them, because as a bass player your role is normally fixed in the background. You know how to stay tight with the drummer, but not to lead a band and solo with a lot of expression like horns or vocalists. I learned a lot from him about this, simply only by listening to his records.
Akbar : Your musical signature on your Fender Bass is a heavy funky sound (that reminds me of Funkadelic or George Clinton) with a slap technique that gives more depth and groove to your play. Where does this inclination for funk come from?
Peter : When I started to play the bass, I think by the age of fourteen, I was only into funk. The hard repetetive funk bass lines caught my attention. I didn’t know much how to solo, I just liked to groove, groove, groove ! Even when I started to open my mind more to jazz, this funky attitude remained and has become an important part of my style.
Akbar : You realised your first CD called “M-Vibez” in 2003. It was well received, as it was very musical and had a great flair. You composed and arranged most of the tracks. The CD was also released on your own label “Mullenium Records”. Is it so important for you to be in control of the recording process?
Peter : I have a pretty clear picture of how I want to sound. That makes it difficult for me to give control to other engineers or producers when it comes to my own stuff. But the people who work with me know exactly where I’m coming from. You’ll find most of the names on “M-Vibez” on my new record as well. I like to work with the feeling that things are clear, and I don’t need to explain too much.
Akbar : So now, let us come to your latest CD, “The Flow”, a great piece of work displaying your variety of style, sound, composition and production, where you mix oriental and latin sounds. Why did you wait 4 years before releasing your latest album? How did this project come to fruition?
Peter : After the release of “M-Vibez” in 2003 I was overwhelmed by the response and responsibility. All was new for me, suddenly I was a solo artist, but I needed to run and organize my own label as well. So I needed time to learn about many things in the business and find my way as an artist. That took some time until I could think of a new album. The first ideas for a new CD came up in 2006. I finally started to feel that it was time to do something new. But during this year I was interrupted by some private issues as well. So the main work took place last year. When I finished the album in October 2007, I decided to hit the market at the beginning of 2008 and make it a real fresh release.
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Akbar : You have great European musicians playing on “The Flow”: British sax pleayer Frank Mead and guitarist Tim Cansfield; German keyboardist Tobias Neumann and trumpet player Christian Knappe. Can you tell us more on these talented musicians and on the way you integrate them in your CD?
Peter : Frank Mead is probably UK’s most in demand sax player. He has been in the business for more than 30 years and has played alongside such legendary names as Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Gary Moore, Phil Collins or Michael McDonald to name only a very few. He’s a permanent member of Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings as well. I got to know him by chance, when he performed once in my hometown about ten years ago. I became a member of his own group and later on, I produced his first solo album “Shout It Out” which was released on my label as well. Through Frank I met other big names in Britain. Tim Cansfield is surely one of them, he has played with the Bee Gees for many years and has worked with people like Annie Lennox, Steve Winwood, Ray Charles, Beverley Craven and many more. I’m so thankful that they have played on my albums! But I also do work with fantastic German musicians. The most important for me is Tobias Neumann. He gives that magic flavour to the keyboards exactly in the way I like it. He’s a very talented composer, arranger and producer as well. With Christian Kappe I have one of the best European trumpet players on board. He has performed countless gigs with great artist like Barbara Dennerlein or Jasper van’t Hof.
Akbar : On this CD, you perform a lot of instruments (various kinds of bass (lead, fretless, acoustic bass; beats and percussion; Rhodes organ; clavinet). You also recorded and produced this album on your own label record. Why such a choice?
Peter : Yes, I like to play other instruments as well, when the results are good. If not I leave it to the musicians who can do it better ! Finding a good deal with a major label as a bass player, or any other instrumental artist, is almost impossible. Going with another small independent label doesn't really make much sense because there aren't any advantages. You'll earn only a very small percentage of your record sales, and the promotion possibilities are limited. It has never been cheaper to record high quality music due to computerized studio technology, and it has never been easier to get your music delivered to the whole world through the internet. The best option you have today as an independent musician is to record your own music, put together your own record label, and sell your music through the internet. You just need to be flexible and open to the business side of music. I think the time when a musician only had to concentrate on playing his instrument in order to survive is definitely over.
Akbar : You have been touring a lot in Europe and are based in Germany. Do you intend to perform in the United States soon and would you like to emigrate there, as many European musicians (the Swiss keyboardist Alex Bugnon, the Danish sax player Michael Lington and so many others)?
Peter : I do realize that the U.S. is probably a better market for what I’m doing. I’d love to perform there and I hope there will be a chance soon. I don’t know if I’d immigrate, it depends on many factors, but you’ll never know…
Akbar : With this album, you have peaked bass playing and have asserted yourself as one of the top European bass players. I know that Marcus Miller has recognised your bass skills. So now, do you intend to play with him one day?
Peter : I always had the idea to record a track with him on one of my CDs, but until now I have not written the right tune. Also I don’t know if he wants! We’ll see, maybe one day this dream will come true.
Akbar : What are your future musical projects?
Peter : This year I want to work on a new album of Frank Mead, and hopefully there are also many other interesting projects coming up.
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