Steve Miller says his next album will be “a really interesting thing” where the classic rocker combines jazz instrumentals with blues lyrics.
It couldn’t be further away from familiar Miller originals like “The Joker,” “Abracadabra,” “Rock ‘N Me” and “Fly Like an Eagle” — all of them huge hits in the 1970s and ’80s. And Miller insists that he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“You’ve got to keep working, and you have to stay interested in what you’re doing,” he says in the MaxTV video interview below. “You don’t want to keep doing the same things over and over.”
As for how this new mash-up project might work, Miller offers this: “I got the Miles Davis estate to agree to let me do a version of ‘All Blues,’ and the Ma Rainey estate agreed to let me use the lyrics from ‘See See Rider.'”
Miller has released 18 studio albums as a leader since 1968, but only three in the last 25 years. His most recent effort was 2011’s Let Your Hair Down, which was recorded at the same time as 2010’s Bingo. He’s remained a staple on the concert circuit, however. Miller’s 2013 tour hits New Mexico on May 17, with planned future dates along the West Coast through June, then back through the Deep South and Midwest.
“My life is getting shorter and shorter,” Miller adds. “I’m 69 now. I’m remarkably healthy and lucky. I plan to keep going. My godfather (the legendary guitarist) Les (Paul) played until he was 93 years old. That’s my goal.”
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