Q&A: Brandon Meeks

We caught up with the Indianapolis bassist, whose musical talents are on display in the upcoming Miles Davis biopic Miles Ahead.

IM: How did you land a role in the movie?
I went to the audition in Cincinnati. They gave me a segment of the script they wanted me to read. They had me play a few songs on acoustic bass, and they ended up calling me back after that. They have me depicting Ron Carter. The scenes that I’m in, we’re part of Miles’s Second Great Quintet, one of his most famous groups. It had Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Tony Williams in it.

IM: You worked with the director and star of the film, Don Cheadle. What was he like?
He’s a regular, down-to-earth guy. No kind of Hollywood attitude about him at all. He was really friendly to the band and thought we all played well. He would talk and laugh with us and was just a really approachable guy.

IM: What one thing are you taking away from this?
Never assume that an opportunity of that magnitude won’t happen to you. I kind of just responded to the call for auditions on a whim thinking I wouldn’t get it. So just never pass up an opportunity because you think it’s too far-fetched for you to actually get it.

IM: What have been your best times playing in Indy?
There are just so many stories. I did a two- to three-year stint with Rob Dixon where we played at the Chatterbox every Monday. Those were some really good times. A lot of interesting people would come out. It was a good chance for us to hang out and catch up each week, play some music, and just play whatever we wanted to play.

This article appeared in The Ticket, a 2015 special publication.