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Books
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In the Spirit of Swing: The First 25 Years of Jazz at Lincoln Center
From its first downbeat as a summer concert series at Lincoln Center in 1987, to the fully orchestrated achievement of opening the world’s first venue designed specifically for jazz in 2004, Jazz at Lincoln Center has celebrated this music and these landmarks with an ever-growing audience of jazz fans across the globe.
In the Spirit of Swing: The First 25 Years of Jazz at Lincoln Center illustrates the organization’s rich history and is comprised of hundreds of captivating photographs, including rarely seen shots by JALC Senior Staff Photographer Frank Stewart, and historical documents from JALC’s expansive archives. Narrated by Managing and Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis and with contributions from Albert Murray, Jimmy Heath, Dianne Reeves, Stanley Crouch, and past and present members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, In the Spirit of Swing takes readers on a personal tour inside a remarkable institution with an unfolding legacy.
Photo highlights include the first incarnation of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, formed 25 years ago and featuring members of Marsalis’ young septet and the surviving members of the Duke Ellington Big Band; musicians and actors, including Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln, Tony Bennett, Al Roker, Nick Ashford, Valerie Simpson, Laurence Fishburne, Robin Williams, Toni Morrison, Liza Minelli, Diana Ross, BB King and Eric Clapton, who have performed on JALC’s stages; supporters including Hillary R. Clinton, Ed Bradley, Ahmet Ertegun, Emilio Sosa; and the children around the world who have been touched by the organization’s education initiatives.
Celebrating a quarter century of inspirational music and profoundly good times, In the Spirit of Swing is a gorgeous book and illuminating revelation of how a group of committed citizens championed jazz as a cause and inspired a movement.
“Jazz can provide musicians and listeners alike with a sense of self, a concept of romance, a more comfortable physicality, a deeper understanding of other human beings. It is an endless road of discovery leading to more maturity and acceptance of personal responsibility, a greater respect for cultures around the world, an invigorating playfulness, an excitement about change, and an appetite for the unpredictable.”
— Wynton Marsalis, Managing and Artistic Director, Jazz at Lincoln Center -
Squeak, Rumble, Whomp! Whomp! Whomp!: A Sonic Adventure
What’s that sound? The back door squeeeaks open, sounding like a noisy mouse nearby — eeek, eeeek, eeeek! Big trucks on the highway rrrrrrrumble, just as hunger makes a tummy grrrrumble. Ringing with exuberance and auditory delights, this second collaboration by world-renowned jazz musician and composer Wynton Marsalis and acclaimed illustrator Paul Rogers takes readers (and listeners) on a rollicking, clanging, clapping tour through the many sounds that fill a neighborhood.
Download: A Conversation Between Wynton Marsalis and Paul Rogers
Download: Activity KitSQUEAK, RUMBLE, WHOMP! WHOMP! WHOMP!.
Text copyright © 2012 by Wynton Marsalis. Illustrations copyright © 2012 by Paul Rogers. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA. -
Carnaval: 11 Solos for Cornet and Piano
Celebrating 25 years, Alfreds recently acquired Carnaval project is an epic collection of eleven solos, crafted by Hunsberger himself for Wynton Marsalis. Carnaval: 11 Solos for Cornet and Piano is a studio staple for solo cornet or trumpet players for use in recital or for the soloist in preparation to perform with the wind band accompaniments.
Titles
Variations on Le Carneval de Venise
Valse Brillante
Fantasie Brillante
Flight of the Bumble Bee
The Last Rose of Summer
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
Perpetual Motion
Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms
Grand Russian Fantasia
The Debutante -
Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life
“In this book I hope to reach a new audience with the positive message of America’s greatest music, to show how great musicians demonstrate on the bandstand a mutual respect and trust that can alter your outlook on the world and enrich every aspect of your life–from individual creativity and personal relationships to conducting business and understanding what it means to be American in the most modern sense.”
— Wynton MarsalisIn this beautiful book, the Pulitzer Prize-winning musician and composer Wynton Marsalis explores jazz and how an understanding of it can lead to deeper, more original ways of being, living, and relating — for individuals, communities, and nations. Marsalis shows us how to listen to jazz, and through stories about his life and the lessons he has learned from other music greats, he reveals how the central ideas in jazz can influence the way people think and even how they behave with others, changing self, family, and community for the better. At the heart of jazz is the expression of personality and individuality, coupled with an ability to listen to and improvise with others. Jazz as an art — and as a way to move people and nations to higher ground — is at the core of this unique, illuminating, and inspiring book, a master class on jazz and life by a brilliant American artist.
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Jazz ABZ: An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits
The award-winning book by celebrated jazz composer Wynton Marsalis is now available with an exclusive art print by illustrator Paul Rogers. Featured on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered; Winner of a Bologna Ragazzi Award; A Norman Sugarman Honor Book for Excellence in Children’s Biography; An International Reading Association Children’s Book Award Winner; Winner of a Lion and the Unicorn Award for Excellence in North American Poetry.
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The Magic Hour
Here’s is Wynton Marsalis seminal first recording fo Blue Note Records. It is a clear departure for Marsalis, both as an artist and as a composer. The lively, accessible music show Wynton’s love for the whimsy, the sexy, the sheer fun of life. These eight tunes will provide just as much pleasure for the performer as the listener. This folio, printed on heavy gloss stock, contains note for note transcriptions of the songs contained on Wynton’s first Blue Note recording release. Originally only available as a limited edition commemorative transcription book at Wynton Marsalis concerts, it is now available to the public. The songs are written as lead sheets, fake book style, with melody an chord changes.Piano parts are included where necessary to capture the essence of the tune.
Titles: Feeling of Jazz, You and Me, Free to Be, Baby, I Love You, Big Fat Hen, Skipping, Sophie Rose-Rosalee and The Magic Hour.
The book also contains photos and biographies of the members of the quartet: Eric Lewis, Carlos Henriquez, and Ali Jackson
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To a Young Jazz Musician: Letters From The Road
In To a Young Jazz Musician, the renowned jazz musician and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Wynton Marsalis gives us an invaluable guide to making good music — and to leading a good life.Writing from the road “between the bus ride, the sound check, and the gig,” Marsalis passes on wisdom gained from experience, addressed to a young musician coming up — and to any of us at any stage of life. He writes that having humility is a way to continue to grow, to listen, and to learn; that patience is necessary for developing both technical proficiency and your own art rather than an imitation of someone else’s; and that rules are indispensable because “freedom lives in structure.” He offers lessons learned from his years as a performer and from his great forebears Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, and others; he explores the art of swing; he discusses why it is important to run toward your issues, not away; and he talks about what to do when your integrity runs up against the lack thereof in others and in our culture. He poetically expresses our need for healers: “All of it tracks back to how you heal your culture, one patient at a time, beginning with yourself.”
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Jazz
Inspirational quotes by Wynton Marsalis, with photographs by Nubar Alexanian. Soft bound only.
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Jazz In the Bittersweet Blues of Life
Marsalis gives readers a seat on his old septet’s tour bus for a ride down memory lane. It’s the early 1990s, and the trumpeter is coming into his own as a composer, despite his tight road schedule (check-in at hotel, go to sound check, eat supper, iron the suit, play the gig, snooze a bit, hit the road). Should a day off (or a few free hours) arise, he’s speaking at a local school, composing a ballet, recording an album or playing a ballad to his sons on the phone. Loosely using a sort of call-and-response style, the book swings between Vigeland’s (Stalking the Shark: Passion and Pressure on the Pro Golf Tour) fly-on-the-wall documentation and the poetic solos of Marsalis, philosophizing on jazz, joy, love and lifeall synonymous for him. For better or for worse, it’s easy to lose one’s sense of time and place on the roadand it’s equally easy to do so in this book.
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Wynton Marsalis: Skain’s Domain: A Biography
Award-winning trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis has garnered more credit and criticism than any other jazz artist of his generation. In Skain’s Domain, the first biography of Marsalis, author Leslie Gourse provides a fast-moving overview of Marsalis’s highs and lows. Gourse, a jazz biography specialist who also penned Straight No Chaser: The Life and Genius of Thelonious Monk and Sassy: The Life of Sarah Vaughan, focuses more on Marsalis as a pop icon rather than as a musical figure. At her best, Gourse reveals Marsalis’s conventional, post Civil Rights-era upbringing in the South—along with his quirky relationship with brother Branford, and his duels with Miles Davis and jazz critics—adding a needed dimension to his public persona. “Whether as a result of his New Orleans environment, his natural indications, his family upbringing, his early successes and the terrific attention he was accorded, or all those elements,” she writes, “Wynton drove himself relentlessly to achieve his twin goals of establishing himself as a masterful musician and elevating jazz in its rightful place.” Though Gourse often focuses more on the man than on his music, her portrait of Marsalis will be of interest to the general reader, and it serves as a solid starting point for future works on this celebrated artist.
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Wynton Marsalis Ballads
Transcribed Trumpet Solos with Piano Accompaniment Book
This incredible book of well known “Standards” contains complete note for note transcriptions and piano reduction of the combo arrangements from some of Wynton’s Grammy winning Performances. These New editions, which have been meticulously edited by Wynton himself, are provided in both score form and also with a separate pull of section for the soloist. (Note: There is no CD with these books)
Interpretations of classic ballads from the leading jazz trumpeter of the past 20 years. Each arrangement is meticulously edited by Wynton himself.
Titles are:- For All We Know (from: Hot House Flowers) – I Can’t Get Started (from: Tune in Tomorrow) – It’s Easy to Remember (from: Standard Time Vol.3) – My Ideal (from: Think of One) – Skylark (from: Standard Time Vol.3) – Stardust (from: Hot House Flowers) – Street of Dreams (from: Standard Time Vol.3) – Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me) (from: Wynton Marsalis) – Where or When (from: Standard Time Vol.3)
INTRODUCTION
Jazz music and the American popular song were born just before the turn of the twentieth century. They have the same parents – Ragtime and Blues. Both speak a common melodic language descended from the minstrel show, the fiddler’s reel, the work song and the spiritual. Both possess a harmonic vocabulary in the tradition of the great J.S. Bach. And, both make extensive use of devices developed in musical theater houses from La Scala to Lu Lu White’s.
Legend has it that the first jazz musician was Buddy Bolden. His repertoire consisted of original and blues songs, yes; but he was known and loved for his versions of popular songs and dance tunes. As the art oÍ jazz began to define itself, the practice of “jazzin”’ a popular song became as important as swinging the blues. As the American popular song evolved, composers like Hoagy Carmichael and George Gershwin increasingly incorporated more of the swing and feel of iazz. As a matter of fact, Mr. Carmichael’s “Stardust” is said to be derived from an improvised solo of jazz cornetist Bix Beiderbecke.
In the late 1920’s and early 5O’s, the masterpiece recordings of trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong changed the relationship of jazz to the popular song. He had the ablhty to construct coherent improvised solos, which applied the musical implications of the blues to the more sophisticated harmonies and modulations of the popular song. This showed iazz musicians ever5,where that the popular song could be used as thematic material for improvised variations. Because Armstrong was also a masterful singer, he cut and pasted lyrics into a collage of powerful, sSmcopated modern music, inspiring generations of singers as well.
From the turn of the century to the late 1950’s, thousands of songs were comin from musical theater, films and Tin Pan Alley. Jazz musicians sifted through this mountain of material to find the best songs. They loved to play arecognizable song because it provided a common ground between musician and audience.
It still does. That someone could hum or sing along m-ade the improvisation easier to follow and understand, In some instances a particular rendition of a popular tune became a musician’s “signature” song, such as Coleman Hawkins’ “Body and Soul,” John Coltrane’s “My Favorite Things,” Miles Davis’ “My Funny Valentine,” or Tommy Dorsey’s “l’m Getting Sentimental Over You.” Musicians loved to find dlfferent ways to play these songs, from Lester Young’s wispy melodic improvisations to Art Tatum’s virtuosic runs and complete reharmonizations. There was even a style of jazz composition which fitted the harmonic structure and form of popular songs with jazz melodies, like Charlie Parker’s “Ornithology” based on Morgan Lewis’ “How High the Moon” and the two million tunes written to Gershwin’s “l Got Rhythm.”Now these songs are called standards. They have been played in some form by every iazz musician from Jelly Roll Morton to Marcus Roberts. The playing of standards is an essential part of the mod,ern jazz musician’s development. The melodies teach us how to sing through our instruments, The harmonic progressions guide us through the many tiered structure of our 12 keys. And, most importantly, many of these songs place us in the topsy-turvy world of love and romance with its exceptions, triumphs, its humor and failures. These songs are our heritage. They can be arranged, rehar- monized, rephrased, syncopated, swung, crooned, or just simply stated without losing their identity and charisma. They are standards and they need to be played with soul. Yes. And swing.
Wynton Marsalis
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Wynton Marsalis Standards
Transcribed Trumpet Solos with Piano Accompaniment Book
This incredible book of well known “Standards” contains complete note for note transcriptions and piano reduction of the combo arrangements from some of Wynton’s Grammy winning Performances. These New editions, which have been meticulously edited by Wynton himself, are provided in both score form and also with a separate pull of section for the soloist. (Note: There is no CD with these books)
Interpretations of jazz standards from the genre’s leading contemporary trumpeter. Introduced and edited by Wynton himself. Titles are:
- April in Paris (from: Standard Time Vol.1) – Autumn Leaves (from: Standard Time Vol.1) – Caravan (from: Standard Time Vol.1) – Cherokee (from: Standard Time Vol.1) – Django (from: Hot House Flowers) – A Foggy Day (from: Standard Time Vol.1) – Linus and Lucy (from: Joe Cool’s Blues) – The Song Is You (from: Standard Time Vol.1) – When You Wish Upon a Star (from: Hot House Flowers)
INTRODUCTION
Jazz music and the American popular song were born just before the turn of the twentieth century. They have the same parents – Ragtime and Blues. Both speak a common melodic language descended from the minstrel show, the fiddler’s reel, the work song and the spiritual. Both possess a harmonic vocabulary in the tradition of the great J.S. Bach. And, both make extensive use of devices developed in musical theater houses from La Scala to Lu Lu White’s.
Legend has it that the first jazz musician was Buddy Bolden. His repertoire consisted of original and blues songs, yes; but he was known and loved for his versions of popular songs and dance tunes. As the art oÍ jazz began to define itself, the practice of “jazzin”’ a popular song became as important as swinging the blues. As the American popular song evolved, composers like Hoagy Carmichael and George Gershwin increasingly incorporated more of the swing and feel of iazz. As a matter of fact, Mr. Carmichael’s “Stardust” is said to be derived from an improvised solo of jazz cornetist Bix Beiderbecke.
In the late 1920’s and early 5O’s, the masterpiece recordings of trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong changed the relationship of jazz to the popular song. He had the ablhty to construct coherent improvised solos, which applied the musical implications of the blues to the more sophisticated harmonies and modulations of the popular song. This showed iazz musicians ever5,where that the popular song could be used as thematic material for improvised variations. Because Armstrong was also a masterful singer, he cut and pasted lyrics into a collage of powerful, sSmcopated modern music, inspiring generations of singers as well.
From the turn of the century to the late 1950’s, thousands of songs were comin from musical theater, films and Tin Pan Alley. Jazz musicians sifted through this mountain of material to find the best songs. They loved to play arecognizable song because it provided a common ground between musician and audience.
It still does. That someone could hum or sing along m-ade the improvisation easier to follow and understand, In some instances a particular rendition of a popular tune became a musician’s “signature” song, such as Coleman Hawkins’ “Body and Soul,” John Coltrane’s “My Favorite Things,” Miles Davis’ “My Funny Valentine,” or Tommy Dorsey’s “l’m Getting Sentimental Over You.” Musicians loved to find dlfferent ways to play these songs, from Lester Young’s wispy melodic improvisations to Art Tatum’s virtuosic runs and complete reharmonizations. There was even a style of jazz composition which fitted the harmonic structure and form of popular songs with jazz melodies, like Charlie Parker’s “Ornithology” based on Morgan Lewis’ “How High the Moon” and the two million tunes written to Gershwin’s “l Got Rhythm.”Now these songs are called standards. They have been played in some form by every iazz musician from Jelly Roll Morton to Marcus Roberts. The playing of standards is an essential part of the mod,ern jazz musician’s development. The melodies teach us how to sing through our instruments, The harmonic progressions guide us through the many tiered structure of our 12 keys. And, most importantly, many of these songs place us in the topsy-turvy world of love and romance with its exceptions, triumphs, its humor and failures. These songs are our heritage. They can be arranged, rehar- monized, rephrased, syncopated, swung, crooned, or just simply stated without losing their identity and charisma. They are standards and they need to be played with soul. Yes. And swing.
Wynton Marsalis
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Marsalis on Music
Companion book to the popular PBS-TV series Marsalis on Music (available on DVD), introducing families, children, and music-hungry readers of all ages to the joy of good music, both classical and jazz.
With an unrivaled freshness, charm, and sense of fun, Wynton Marsalis steps forward not only as a world-renowned jazz and classical performer, but as a great teacher in the tradition of Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts.
Using wonderfully appealing examples and analogies—likening the rhythmic structures of music to playing basketball or football, teaching sonata form through a story about chasing a pet hamster through a shopping mall, drawing unprecedented and revealing connections between classical music and jazz—Wynton Marsalis makes so-called “difficult” music vivid, immediately graspable, and most of all fun. The result is the perfect book for families and schools eager to give children a strong cultural foundation without boring them—no risk of that here!—or for anyone who has ever felt interested in “serious” music only to be intimidated by its intricacies.
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Sweet Swing Blues On The Road
Jazz and classical musician Wynton Marsalis’s free-ranging text includes characterizations of the musicians in his septet, breezy descriptions of places where they perform and snippets of their lively banter, while Frank Stewart’s 140 b&w photos offer a behind-the-scenes look at the performers, their families and their audiences. The book conveys the nervous energy and fast pace that characterize the lives of musicians on the road and includes trenchant accounts of conversations with young followers who want to become musicians. Marsalis’s advice is always the same: practice. The self-consciously hip writing, however, becomes incoherent when he discusses his views on romance, politics and the history of jazz.