Wynton discussing about jazz with Ethan Iverson
Last August, pianist Ethan Iverson sat down with Wynton and started working on the following collection of posts. Contents include:
- Interview with Wynton Marsalis (Part one): Detailed discussion with audio clips of Wynton’s latest major opus, Congo Square, a two-CD set combining the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and Odadaa! (the West African drum ensemble led by Yacub Addy).
- Interview with Wynton Marsalis (Part two): A casual blindfold test of classic trumpet solos including Wynton’s decoding of improvising procedures on the legendary “Knozz-Moe-King” from Live at Blues Alley. This section also includes general thoughts on race and education from Wynton.
The “J” Word: An introduction to the following side posts.
1. Young Lion jazz of the 1980’s: Wynton, Branford, Ralph, Tain, Mulgrew, Kirkland, Donald Brown, Garrett, etc.
2. Four Early Wynton Marsalis/Jeff Watts Records: Made over twenty years ago, they still sound fresh today.
3. Current Perceptions: A call for respect.
4. An Old Feud: The Marsalis juggernaut versus the AACM.
5. Reading the Black Jazz Writers: Murray, Crouch, Ellison, Baraka, Spellman, Lewis, etc.
Comments
A priceless interview! Exciting !
Thank you Wynton and Ethan. Merry Christmas!
Ricardo Batista on Dec 24th, 2008 at 7:53pm
The recording of Wynton explaining “Knoz-Moe-King” is priceless. I’m like the interviewer – always liked it but never really knew what was going on. Thanks for posting this.
ZW on Dec 20th, 2008 at 8:44am
This is one of the most exciting sections in the whole work. The tempo of the trumpets emerges here from within a relation of timing between two of the other instruments in the previous few phrases. I didn’t hear this until about the 250th time that I listened to the song, and I only heard it when I listened in New Orleans.
Tsotsobi, that sounded perfect to me, impeccable in it’s composition (that’s always the word that I use) when I listened to it in Ghana.
Strange that geographical location can impact the way I hear a piece.
Karen on Dec 16th, 2008 at 3:11pm
I am a huge Ethan Iverson and The Bad Plus fan. The interview was amazing! I was so excited to see two of my favorite musicians discussing the music in such detail. Every word was interesting. For Wynton to give over four hours to this interview is another example of his generosity and dedication to the music. I was surprised then to read Iverson’s subsequent editorial entitled ” The ‘J’ Word”, which is not linked to here (you can find it by searching for ‘Do the Math’). In this essay, Iverson fails to give Wynton his due respect when not with him face-to-face. Wynton deserves more respect than this. If not for Wynton visitin thousands of high schools over the past 30 years, jazz would have fewer young listeners today, which equals fewer people buying Ethan Iverson’s CDs and concert tickets.
Jason on Dec 15th, 2008 at 9:34pm
an awesome list !
I’ll study the contents tonight…thanks!!!
Jonas on Dec 15th, 2008 at 1:14pm