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Wynton’s Blog

  • The spirit of jazz is a powerful thing

    Posted on July 4th, 2023

    Night before last, we had the pleasure of playing in Szczecin, Poland. (Shh-CHECH-in) Our man, saxophonist, composer organizer and cultural force, Sylwester Ostrowski and his wife Anna are presenting us. They are here doing it all: welcoming cats to the hotel, tidying the venue, bringing students to help with the check in, sound check and stage setup (and get some impromptu lessons)... Anna even got absolutely fancied up to elegantly host the concert from the stage.   Keep reading »

  • Rest In Peace Wayne

    Posted on March 2nd, 2023

    An important cog in the ever turning wheel of universal humanism has passed through leaving all he touched better than it was before. He was and will always be: purveyor of pentatonic perfection;   Keep reading »

  • The Right Reverand Robert Stewart

    Posted on February 21st, 2023

    The latest Journey through Jazz concert featured Sherman, Paul, and Chris Lewis reflecting on their hometowns and individual and collective efforts that laid groundwork for this music and it’s culture to continue.   Keep reading »

  • The making of Blues Symphony

    Posted on May 21st, 2021

    When we were working on All Rise in 1999, Jonathan Kelly came to my house as a young kid to pick up music. He said he was a bass player. We were working on All Rise and copyists all over New York were being worn out.   Keep reading »

  • Ellis Marsalis playing “In The Afterglow”

    Posted on April 1st, 2021

    It’s been a year since our father passed. This morning my brother Jason sent this clip of him remembering a ballad I wrote waaay back in 1985 (when I was 24). It was my first attempt to write something with a sophisticated chord progression and melody.   Keep reading »

  • Think Of One: I remember that time like it was yesterday, although it was almost 40 years ago

    Posted on March 11th, 2021

    I remember that time like it was yesterday, although it was almost 40 years ago. As a band we were trying to come out with our own way of playing without forsaking the substance of the fundamentals of actual jazz music that we could understand at that time.   Keep reading »

  • Christine Reed did so much to help me negotiate through very tough situations in my early days

    Posted on February 25th, 2021

    I want to thank so many of my friends and collegues for responding to yesterdays post. I know and remember so many of my collegues and friends for so many years and spent so many hours hearing them and loving their playing. It’s been a deep deep blessing.   Keep reading »

  • Raymond Leppard affirmed me in the same way Sweets Edison always did in those years

    Posted on February 24th, 2021

    We were supposed to record in what was then Czechoslovakia. The session had to be changed after one day of rehearsing (a long story…). Thankfully, Christine Reed, the Vice President of A&R for CBS Masterworks, was with us and for us.   Keep reading »

  • Remembering Chick Corea

    Posted on February 12th, 2021

    Chick at Marciac 2019 at 2:45am, after playing his own 1-1/2 hour set and sitting through our 1-1/2, agrees to come up on the bandstand and play with us, says he would rather accompany than solo,   Keep reading »

  • Sloganize, Patronize, Realize, Revolutionize

    Posted on January 8th, 2021

    (Black Lives Matters) — a slogan and sentiment that has dominated the airwaves and the social space. Its intention is very clear but the facts of it all remain shrouded in mystery.   Keep reading »