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Honoring late Congressman John Lewis
I knew and loved Mr. Lewis but Scotty Barnhart was family to him as Scotty is to me. This is his beautiful post in remembrance Keep reading »
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Wynton’s Top Ten: Compelling Works on the Subject of Freedom
Introducing a new Jazz at Lincoln Center series titled “Wynton’s Top Ten,” a monthly listicle curated by Wynton Marsalis. This month, Wynton shares his “Top Ten” picks for “Compelling Works on the Subject of Freedom” and his annotations behind each selection. Keep reading »
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Response to yet another senseless public murder of a Black Citizen by officers of the law
With the crescendo of public outcry and proliferation of opinions and justifiable expressions of outrage by so many experts, officials and popular celebrities, I fear there’s little room or need for yet another person voicing a commonly held opinion. Keep reading »
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My daddy was a humble man with a lyrical sound that captured the spirit of Crescent City
My daddy passed away last night. We now join the worldwide family who are mourning grandfathers and grandmothers, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers— kinfolk, friends, neighbors, colleagues, acquaintances and others. Keep reading »
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The Stories Behind the Songs of the JLCO’s “Rock Chalk Suite”
Back in 2018, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis premiered the Rock Chalk Suite, a piece commissioned to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Lied Center of Kansas. As the University of Kansas’s (KU’s) performing arts center, the Lied Center was eager to tell the storied history of Jayhawk basketball, and each of the JLCO’s members wrote a piece honoring a different KU hoops legend. Keep reading »
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McCoy Tyner was one of our great American originals
McCoy Tyner was one of our great American originals. His piano sound and style were unlike any other. Virtuosity and virtue, soul and sophistication, tenderness and thunder; all delivered with pinpoint accuracy and concentrated intensity. Keep reading »
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About Forms
In 1990, I wrote my first extended composition, _Blue Interlude_. At that time, Jelly Roll Morton’s and Duke Ellington’s methods of constructing longer, more complex pieces were a great inspiration. Keep reading »
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Sitting next to Jeff Hamilton judging the Essentially Ellington Festival is the highlight of my year
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I truly love Jeff Hamilton. He is not only deeply soulful and totally engaged with the music, he is incredibly funny. Sitting next to him judging the Essentially Ellington Festival is the highlight of my year. Keep reading »
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Bolden is the rarest form of originator: one who invents an approach that is itself an entire universe
When Dan Pritzker approached me to do a mythic version of Buddy Bolden’s life, I was excited for the possibility. Though no recording of Bolden has ever been found, I tried to conceive of his style as a more advanced composite of Keep reading »
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JLCO trumpet section and the Juilliard jazz trumpets
Great dinner last night after our first Christmas concert at Gabriel’s (across the street from the House of Swing) with our JLCO trumpet section and the Juilliard jazz trumpets. Keep reading »
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