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A Veritable Feast of Music for Christmas
The holiday pattern is by now familiar. While the networks gorge themselves on Christmas movies, public television sings itself hoarse with music specials. Anything with Luciano Pavarotti, apparently, is considered fail-safe. Keep reading »
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Marsalis charms Opera House crowd
WILMINGTON - Make no mistake, Wynton Marsalis is a serious musician but has a well-developed sense of humor. His sextet edified a full, very respectful house Monday night in the Grand Opera House. Keep reading »
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He trumpets mature jazz
For Marsalis, jazz means the mainstream from the early New Orleans and big-band sound to ‘40s bebop and the variations on bop that came in the ‘50s. He has paved the way for the re-emergence of mainstream in jazz records. Keep reading »
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A Heritage Is Affirmed In ‘Griot New York’
“Griot New York” is one of the happiest and most poetic dance premieres of the season. This first-time collaboration by the choreographer Garth Fagan, the composer and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and the sculptor Martin Puryear is constantly blessed with a quality of surprise. Keep reading »
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JACK HEALEY talks with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis about the good works of good jazz, America’s classical music
WYNTON MARSALIS IS A PHENOMENON. A great jazz musician steeped in classical training, a young man with not just a horn but a clear and articulated view of the world. Last year he played as part of Amnesty lnternational’s concert in the National Stadium in Santiago, Chile. Keep reading »
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Marsalis Does Jazz, And Does It Well
TRUMPET virtuoso Wynton Marsalis returned to the Powell Hall stage Tuesday evening, but this time he wasn’t performing a Haydn or Hummel trumpet concerto with the St Louis Symphony. Instead, Marsalis and his talented ensemble of musicians performed two excellent sets of what many regard as America’s most singular contribution to 20th-century music - Jazz. Keep reading »
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Marsalis’ Trumpet Sings and Swings
Perhaps as part of his coal to bring dancers back to jazz music, Wynton Marsalis invests everything he plays with an infectious swine. Trumpeter-bandleader Marsalis his septet through a dancing two hour show Friday night at Lied Center for the Performing Arts, then for an encore capped it off with a blistering of the bebop classic “Cherokee” Keep reading »
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Marsalis and his trumpet get jazz fest rolling on intense note
Those who still doubt that trumpeter Wynton Marsalis has found a voice all his own probably were not at Grant Park on Thursday night, when Marsalis played a mesmerizing set for the opening of the Chicago Jazz Festival. Keep reading »
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Wynton Marsalis Gets Kind Of Blue
There’s a recurring song on Wynton Marsalis’s formidable new trilogy, “Soul Gestures in Southern Blue,” called “So This Is Jazz, Huh?” It is both a challenge and a history lesson. Yeah, the song argues, this is jazz: a system of African-American mythmaking guided by the blues, with a rhythmic chain stretching back to pre-Civil War New Orleans and beyond. Keep reading »
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NEW RELEASES : Eclectic ‘Blues’ From Wynton Marsalis
In the introduction to the incredibly prolix liner notes by Stanley Crouch, this three-CD set is called a “blues cycle.” A better description: a richly rewarding series of compositions, all but three by Marsalis, notable for the evocative, suspensefully moody character of the music rather than any strong blues essence. Keep reading »