Miller and Sanborn back Miles Davis on Letterman

Keyboardist George Duke, bass player Marcus Miller and saxophonist David Sanborn have crossed paths many times since the late 1970s. Duke first appeared with Sanborn in Saturday Night Live house band, while he connected with Miller in the mid-80s after writing a song for Miles Davis at a time when Miller was collaborating with the iconic trumpet player. Both Duke and Miller also served as the musical directors for Sanborn’s Night Music television show, with Duke taking on this role in year one and Miller following in year two. Starting next month, the three musicians will take to the road together for a series of dates as DMS. The trio will kick things off over Memorial Day weekend in Florida and eventually haed out to California in August.

As for what may follow, Duke explains, “The amazing thing is that we have not done this before. Each one of us in some way has changed the musical landscape. Now we are bringing this mountain of experience together to move and change it again. For me, the great thing is that we have such a wealth of musical knowledge, experience and history to choose from. More important is for us to take that wealth and formulate a fresh identity of who we are now – as a band – from this time forward. Accomplishing that will be the stuff of legend!”

DMS Dates

May 28 Lake Buena Vista (Orlando), FL – House of Blues
May 29 Jacksonville, FL – Jacksonville Jazz Festival
May 30 Atlanta, GA – Atlanta Jazz Festival, Chastain Park
June 1 Buffalo, NY – Kleinhans Auditorium
June 2 Glenside (Philadelphia), PA – Keswick Theater
June 3 Columbia, MD – Capital Jazz Festival
June 23 Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
June 24 Kettering (Dayton), OH – Fraze Pavilion
June 25 Charlotte, NC – Roadrunner Mobile Amphitheatre
June 26 Hampton, VA – Hampton Jazz Festival
August 5 Apple Valley (Minneapolis), MN – Weesner Amphitheater
August 6 Chicago, IL – Park West
August 7 St. Louis, MO – Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center
August 8 Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theatre
August 9 Denver, CO – Denver Botanic Gardens
August 12 Seattle, WA – Benaroya Hall
August 13 Portland, OR – Roseland Theatre
August 14 San Jose, CA – San Jose Jazz Festival
August 26 Santa Barbara, CA – Granada Theatre
August 27 Brooks (Sacramento), CA – Cache Creek Resort
August 28 San Diego, CA – Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay
August 31 Hollywood, CA – Hollywood Bowl