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At the White House, a Blend of Jazz Greats and Hopefuls
It was not the full-force, let-a-thousand-saxophones-bloom, this-is-our-music festival that some might have wished from a White House where the language of jazz seems to have a place, at least in the president’s iPod. But it was a good start. On Monday afternoon, Michelle Obama invited about 150 high school jazz students to the White House for a program called Jazz Studio. There was a student clinic including five members of the Marsalis family and the clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera, and then a short concert introduced by the first lady. Keep reading »
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Review: Wynton Marsalis and Willie Nelson: Live from Jazz at Lincoln Center New York City
The video record of the January 2007 concerts combining Wynton Marsalis and Willie Nelson is simply beautiful. Taking place in the Allen Room of Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s palace to the great American art form, these concerts overlook the nighttime traffic of midtown Manhattan. Keep reading »
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Review - Wynton Marsalis: He and She
I do not know what fire burns in Wynton Marsalis’s belly, but it drives him to amazing and strange feats. Once upon a time, it drove him to learn and play his horn as no trumpeter had before him. It led him to master, truly, both jazz and classical styles, and then it led him to study and emulate the great compositions of Duke Ellington, eventually earning him a Pulitzer Prize for Blood on the Fields. It even led him to become an international leader in music education. Keep reading »
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Experiencing America, With Foot and Instrument
The climax of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s 50th-anniversary season, which has emphasized live music, has arrived in the middle of its run, with two programs whose first two-thirds are each to music by Duke Ellington. To play these, Wynton Marsalis (on trumpet) and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (conducted by Eric Reed, some 19 musicians in all) occupy the back of City Center’s stage. Keep reading »
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The 2009 Jazz Masters: Jazz Oscars
An annual celebration since 1982, the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Awards Ceremony & Concert has become the jazz world’s equivalent to the Academy Awards. And while there may not have been any Hollywood-style red carpet arrivals outside Jazz at Lincoln Center for this year’s gala on Oct. 17, the sheer number of living legends assembled inside Rose Theater caused many goosebump moments for the faithful fans, family, friends and past Jazz Masters in attendance. Keep reading »
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Bicoastal Swing and Stomp in a Lively Onstage Face-Off
In Jazz at Lincoln Center’s business model of jazz, competition brings heroism. Particularly group heroism: a band, preferably being challenged by another band, is its preferred symbol of jazz’s health. Keep reading »
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Marsalis’ new work snappy, satisfying
Even Wynton Marsalis would admit that brevity has never been his strong suit as a composer. His Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz oratorio “Blood on the Fields” ran three hours, and his previous classically oriented works include the 45-minute string quartet “Octoroon Balls” and the 100-minute oratorio “All Rise” for orchestra, jazz band and chorus. Keep reading »
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Ahmad Jamal at JALC’s season opening concert
When Ahmad Jamal mentioned that it’s been 50 years since “that” recording in Chicago—the renowned At the Pershing: But Not For Me which he recorded as a member of the Pershing Hotel’s house trio in 1958—his longevity and scope as a pianist quickly came into perspective and overwhelmed me. Few pianists, let alone jazz musicians, can claim such an expansive career. That the majority of this setlist came only from the latter 20 years of his repertoire was an additional testament to his continuing presence as one of jazz’s great pianists and innovators. But at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s season opening concert series in Rose Hall Jamal humbly eschewed his celebrated stature, opting to cherish the Hall’s demure acoustics, his quartet’s deft phrasing, and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s superb arrangements and soloing. Keep reading »
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Review: ‘Ahmad Jamal, Wynton Marsalis’
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of his landmark recording of “Poinciana,” Ahmad Jamal encored the piece in a politely designed and refined performance. The vet pianist played with his trademark feathery grace that’s often accented by boldly explosive chords. Jamal’s opening set found him in the company of a rhythmic trio governed by percussionist Manolo Badrena, whose dancing fingers provided a relentlessly pulsating tempo for the entire repertoire. Keep reading »
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“Look at each other”: Wynton Marsalis brings his jazz message to town
“What kind of mouthpiece do you use?” asked the earnest young jazz student. Wynton Marsalis knew that sooner or later, a kid would ask that question, and he would have to lie. “I’m not an equipment person,” Marsalis shrugged. “I use what they give me.” Oh, really. Keep reading »