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Marcus L. Miller
Member Since: 2008 | Location: Los Angeles | Page Views: 1,326 
About Me
Marcus L. Miller is an accomplished drummer and percussionist based in Southern California.
Artist/Percussionist Marcus L. Miller is a multi-instrumentalist based in Southern California. He is the Artistic Director of the performance art ensemble Freedom Jazz Movement and the bandleader of the percussion ensemble Project World Drum. He also serves as Musical Director and consultant for the modern dance company Lula Washington Dance Theatre. Miller is President of his record label Universe Soul Records and is also the founder & director of the Young Drummers of Los Angeles. Marcus is a member of Chamber Music America, a voting member of the Recording Academy, a member of American Federation of Musicians Local 47, a composer for Heavy Harmony Music publishing, and a SESAC affiliate artist. Miller has recorded and released 24 albums for his label and has also written music for several independent films and documentaries including Movement With A Meaning, Beyond the Echo of the drum, Love And Other 4 Letter Words, My girlfriend’s Back, and the 20th Century fox DVD release of Avatar the Last Airbender. Marcus began his professional music career in 1995. He has toured internationally & nationally performing with a variety of groups including Ben Harper, The Watts Prophets, Sheila E., Ashanti, and BoujouBumBastick. Since 2006, Miller along with his group, the Marcus Miller Ensemble, has performed extensively with the Lula Washington Dance Theatre. This collaboration of Black American music and Black modern dance continues to redefine and reflect a unique “Black American cultural perspective”. Highlight performances include the Lincoln Center out of doors festival (2006), a six-week tour of Russia (2009), the International Book Fair festival in Guadalajara, MX (2009), a 15-city [3 week] tour of China (2011), the Amazonas Dance Festival in Manaus,Brasil (2011), the 2012 San Jose jazz festival, and a 3-week Russia/Siberia tour (2013), and a 4 night run at the Israeli Opera house in Tel Aviv (2016). In 2015, Miller and his ensemble headlined the 12th annual Vladivostock International Jazz Festival in Vladivostock, Russia. In 2015, Miller began working with a group of artists called Panoply...a collaboration of musicians, dancers, poets, and graphic/visual artists developing new technology bridging and advancing the presentation of these artistic mediums. 2016 ushered in the start of a new project, M & M...the Afro-Persian Experience, with his band mate Mehdi Bagheri. In 2020, the duo released its debut album entitled M&M...the Afro-Persian Experience. Evolving out of the Covid-19 pandemic years (2020-2022) was a new project Miller introduced called Universe X & the Apostles of Funk. This group is a fusion of World-beat & Afro-Beat grooves fused with the chants and rhythms of the Mardi Gras Indians. The group features the 2022 NEA Folk Heritage award recipient Big Chief Shaka Zulu of New Orleans, LA. The Pandemic lull also reignited Miller’s passion for production. Along with his production partners and team, he has been busily creating content that includes the live variety show Nouveaux Afro, music and dance concert events, documentary projects, and several interview format series focusing on dance, the elders, and culture. The production company is called TaMar Productions.
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This page was last updated on 2026-06-24.
