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Wynton Marsalis: A rhapsody of respect for greats of classical jazz
It has been about 30 years since precocious American trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, having won Grammys in jazz and classical music, divided the jazz world with his controversial opinions. He dismissed many of the innovative or experimental styles that had come into jazz in the 1970s and 80s, and emphasised what he saw as its essential elements: coherent improvisation, swing feel and the blues. Keep reading »
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Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Barbican, London — ‘Flamboyant’
Wynton Marsalis promised that the final evening of JLCO’s three-night Barbican residency would “capture the impact of George Gershwin’s music on the jazz tradition”. This was accomplished in flamboyant style. The trumpeter’s introductions were as concisely eloquent as his few short solos, while JLCO’s ability to conjure earlier jazz styles remains unrivalled. Over the evening they referenced late ragtime, cool-school modernism and most points in between. Keep reading »
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Wayne Shorter/JLCO review – bravura and cool as jazz giant comes to town
Wynton Marsalis’s spirited and long-running Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra often devote their shows to the legacies of pioneers, late or living – but they could hardly have picked a more charismatic guest for the opening night of their current Barbican residency. The work of Wayne Shorter, the 82 year-old saxophonist with a sound as unique as a thumbprint and one of jazz’s greatest small-band composers, was hailed on Thursday in a series of offbeat mini-concertos in which he was principal improvising soloist. Keep reading »
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Wayne Shorter with JLCO | London, Barbican
I first saw the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in 2003. Wynton Marsalis and his colleagues changed the way I heard music and the centre of my musical universe. How could this concert compare? Keep reading »
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Wayne Shorter and Wynton Marsalis with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Barbican
Wayne Shorter and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra – that sounds like a dream pairing. Shorter, now 82, is one of the true greats, a saxophonist and composer with an enchanting and unpredictable approach that makes him instantly recognisable. Keep reading »
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When Shorter and Marsalis brought the house down
This encounter between famed saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter and Wynton Marsalis’s Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra was bound to be exciting – but also potentially problematic. Wayne Shorter shot to fame in the late Fifties and Sixties when he played with Miles Davis and Art Blakey, and penned some immortal standards. Since then, like some jazz Ulysses, he has roamed into distant seas with a trusty band of colleagues, creating vast visionary pieces that can play for an hour at a stretch. His eye is on the future. Keep reading »
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Jazz at Lincoln Center Performs Night of Gershwin
The rhythm was absolutely fascinating at the Rose Theater over this past weekend as the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, led by its virtuoso artistic director Wynton Marsalis—the Pied-Piper trumpeter of America’s signature musical art form—reinvigorated the George Gershwin songbook with all its ragtime and stride-piano splendor. Keep reading »
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Marsalis and JLCO play marathon, with a little help from Basie
It was billed as a “Battle Royale,” but the matchup between the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the Count Basie Orchestra on Saturday night turned out to be more love fest than cutting contest. Keep reading »
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Concert review: Lincoln Center orchestra, Wynton Marsalis bring big New Orleans cheer to Portland
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis was back in Portland on Wednesday night. And, as in past visits, the group was welcomed by an enthusiastic sell-out crowd at Merrill Auditorium for this Ovations event. Keep reading »
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A Love Supreme: JLCO plays Coltrane at Boston Symphony Hall
The power, variety and virtuosity of big-band jazz were on show Sunday evening at Symphony Hall. In a presentation of the Celebrity Series of Boston, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis performed a two-hour concert of music composed or reinvented by saxophonist John Coltrane. Keep reading »