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MK: Yeah, I know what you mean. Working with Miles [Davis], did you get that notion from him?

MM: I think I was influenced by him. You know, me and a whole generation of musicians were influenced by that aspect of his work: the not-to-get-complacent aspect. I think Miles and John Coltrane, these kind of people, Herbie Hancockthey really have influenced a lot of guys into feeling like you can have a long, wonderful career in music if you have the talent and you have the ability to continue to push your whole life.

MK: What about looking back? Are you opposed to that?

MM: Well, Miles hated it. I dont mind it so much. But I dont like to stay there, you know? Once in a while, its nice to look back and see whats back there, but I try not to spend too much time on it. We did Tutu Revisited over the last couple of years, and it was nice to revisit that music, particularly since we were trying not to play it in the same style as we did 25 years ago. I found some young musicians, and we approached it a little differently, and that was nice. I think we actually ended up creating something new, for today. So that was a different way of looking back, as opposed to just going back and playing in the same stylesthat you did back then and wearing the same clothes

MK: Did you feel at all like Miles in that situation, with the Tutu Revisited tour? Because you were sort of the veteran with the younger players.

MM: Well, when I was thinking about doing Tutu Revisited, you know, I knew Milesdidnt like to look back, so I figured, what would he like about something like that? And I thought he might like if I found young musicians like he liked to doand introduce them to the world, introduce the world to them, and help them get tothe next level. So I didnt feel like Miles, but I definitely took inspiration from him.

MK: Yeah, I guess that you wouldnt feel like Miles, because youre not Miles. [laughs] I read in an interview that when you worked with Miles, it was like, if youdid something, and he liked it, you knew it was good, because his approval was sort of it. But after he died [in 1991], did you feel unmoored in any way? Like less confident by doing something and not necessarily having his word on it?

MM: I think I had enough great experiences with him so that by the time he leftI was OK. But there definitely was a void. You know, I would always think, I cantwait til Miles hears this, even if it was something he didnt have anything to do with. And I used to get a kick out of his reaction to different stuff. So I knew Iwas going to miss that. But by that point I felt pretty confident in what I wasdoing, so that I could move forward.

MK: What other musicians were you influenced by, who sort of boosted your confidence?

MM: Luther Vandross, really, is important to me. David Sanborn. Who else? Way back in the day there was a guy names Lonnie Liston Smith who gave me a lot of enc

ouragement because of my compositions. And then Ralph MacDonald, who is a producer who produced Grover Washington Jr. and a lot of other people. He wrote songsfor Roberta Flack, and he was really important in giving me encouragement.

MK: Any non-musicians?

MM: Well, if I want to go back, you know, my parents were the first ones. They were always sure that I was going to do something good, even when I was a teenager. They stated that as a fact. So it was really nice to have that kind of support from my parents. And I had a music teacher in high school, named Mr. Guarino,

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who was really supportive and really important in my life in terms of me feelinglike, You know what? This is something Im good at. He let me try any instrument Iwanted to try, he pushed me to try other instruments, and not to just stick on one instrument. And so he was very important to me.