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Wynton, Not Long Ago
When I asked Wynton Marsalis to define swing last week, he said, with characteristic wit, “It’s a matter of extreme coordination.” The same can be said for how this singular figure manages his remarkably demanding career. Keep reading »
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PBS: An Interview with Wynton Marsalis
People often say that the best improvised music sounds composed and the best compositions sound improvised. Well, Duke Ellington embodied this principle, as his compositions, when played with integrity and soul, have a freshness to them that captures the improvisatory nature of jazz—even the ones that don’t have any improvised sections. Keep reading »
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Ellington At 100: Reveling in Life’s Majesty
IN Duke Ellington’s world, people are smiling, they are dancing and they are making love. They’re having a good time because his music’s most basic concern is uplift of the human spirit. It’s a music that celebrates freedom of expression, freedom of choice. That’s why we love it. It wants us to love being ourselves and to revel in the majesty of life. Keep reading »
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Talkin’ trumpeters with Wynton Marsalis, part II
In our first installment of “Talkin’ Trumpeters With Wynton Marsalis” (May ‘98), we gave the trumpeter an opportunity to accentuate the positive aspects of his fellow hornblowers. His initial list covered Jon Faddis, Terence Blanchard, Wallace Roney, Nicholas Payton, Marcus Printup, Roy Hargrove and Russell Gunn. We ended with a brief mention of Ryan Kisor, a section man in several big bands and repertory orchestras, including Marsalis’ Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Keep reading »
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Wynton Marsalis On What’s Right And Wrong With Jazz Education
From his formidable pulpit of Jazz At Lincoln Center, Wynton Marsalis is deep in the shed of jazz education, reaching out to children of all ages, developing curriculum material for teachers, concerned not only with pedagogy but also with audience education. Keep reading »
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A Jazz Success Story with a Tinge of the Blues: At Lincoln Center, Defining the Canon Draws Fire
The scene at the Supper Club on West 47th Street seemed to evoke the glory days of jazz—an ebullient swing band playing classic Ellington tunes as dancers in period costumes rocketed around the dance floor. Keep reading »
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Interview with Wynton Marsalis Musical Director, trumpet
Really, soloing is just like talking. You don’t know exactly what you’re going to say but you have an idea and then, as it starts to come out of your mouth, you start to organize it. You even organize the sound of a sentence as you go along. You give, you take some and you give some. And even when you’re listening to somebody, you’re waiting for the time for them to stop, or even if they don’t stop, you’re waiting for a certain moment. Keep reading »
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The Classical Wynton Marsalis Turns Up Again
‘MAN, that’s hard to play,’’ the trumpet virtuoso Wynton Marsalis said recently. ‘‘That’s what goes through the minds of trumpet players when they hear it.’’ Mr. Marsalis, the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, was speaking of a piece outside his usual domain, Stravinsky’s 1918 masterpiece ‘‘L’Histoire du Soldat’’ (’‘The Soldier’s Tale’‘). Keep reading »
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The downside of Wynton Marsalis
On Tuesday, April 28, Wynton Marsalis will appear at the Wisconsin Union Theater to perform one of his new compositions and Igor Stravinsky’s “L’Histoire du Soldat” with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. When he does, you’ll hear his fans talk about what a genius he is, making comments about his mastery of jazz and classical forms—a real Renaissance man. Keep reading »
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Jazz musician of the year: Wynton Marsalis
If everything had gone according to plan, Wynton Marsalis would have taken a long, deep breath in 1997, stepping out of the public eye for a sorely needed sabbatical. Keep reading »