Mind Over Matter

2009 album from the contemporary Jazz great. Mind Over Matter is inspired by Miles Davis' approach to songwriting, especially in the latter part of his career. ''In his later years, he took a very loose and improvisational approach,'' he says. ''He would start with nothing more than a groove that Marcus Miller or some other member of his band would lay down. And from there he would just develop these melodies that were very simple but at the same time very compelling and very memorable. It was a creative process that bypassed the nuts and bolts of the song and just got right to the essence of it.'' The album features musical assistance from Eric Benet, Jeff Lorber, Will Brock, Will Holton and Gary Taylor.