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Wynton Marsalis on his animal ballet, teen funk band days, kazoos and JALC’s 31 years
Before Wynton Marsalis mastered all that jazz — and more than 40 years before he debuted “Spaces,” his 2016 Jazz at Lincoln Center “animal ballet” now headed to San Diego — he cut his teeth playing in several New Orleans funk bands in the 1970s. Keep reading »
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Wynton Marsalis, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra & Damian Woetzel – Spaces – New York
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is a most impressive ensemble; as I listened to them play Wynton Marsalis’s Spaces at the Rose Theater last Friday, the Vienna Philharmonic came to mind. Their playing has confidence, virtuosity, luster, and a wondrous sense of play. Each player is a powerhouse in his own right, further magnified by the give-and-take of his fellow musicians. Keep reading »
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Wynton Marsalis’s Spaces, Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York — ‘Lil Buck moved on a pillow of air’
With Spaces, Wynton Marsalis has created a jazz Carnival of the Animals. The trumpeter-composer conjures a snake from the slide of trombone, the shimmer of cymbal and the snare drum’s dry tick. Four trumpets, three trombones and five saxes render the clucking cacophony of barnyard chickens as well as their jerky gait. Frogs croak in and out of phase, like Steve Reich. Keep reading »
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Wynton Marsalis’s ‘Spaces,’ a Kinetic Series of Zoological Portraits
The kazoos cropped up in the 10th and final movement of “Spaces,” an episodic suite by Wynton Marsalis that had its world premiere at the Rose Theater on Friday. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra was swinging light and fast as it happened, bzz-bzz-bzz-bzz-bzz, in a busy rush. It was a cute and clever flourish, in a piece titled “Bees Bees Bees.” And it was also an act of evocation that reflected the larger theme of the suite. Keep reading »
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Spaces by Wynton Marsalis
Jazz at Lincoln Center presents the world premiere of Spaces by Wynton Marsalis on Friday & Saturday, April 1 & 2, 2016 at 8:00pm in Rose Theater, Frederick P. Rose Hall (60th and Broadway). A series of compositions written for dancers and appropriate for all ages in spirit and years, Spaces will attempt to recapture the natural fascination we have with the sounds and movements of animals. Keep reading »
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Forces of Nature: Lightning, Water, Music and Movement
A lighthouse guides a ship to safety. A lightning rod diverts a bolt from a structure by providing a direct path to the ground. Still, the opening images of “Lighthouse/Lightning Rod,” a new work by the choreographer Garth Fagan, with loose, exuberant music by the jazz composer and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, hint at danger as much as at security. Dancers, wearing aquatically themed purples and blues, move spontaneously, as if caught in a riptide: with little warning, they change direction, hopping forward on one leg while taking freestyle strokes in the air with a single arm or collapsing and dangling their fingers toward the floor. Without being too heavy-handed, Mr. Fagan shows that the waters surrounding his “Lighthouse,” as the first section is named, are anything but tranquil.
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Dance Review: Fagan collaboration with Marsalis debuts with fanfare
Garth Fagan and Wynton Marsalis joined forces for their second collaboration, premiering a new work and revitalizing excerpts from a famed repertory piece at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Thursday night to a packed audience that included Brooklyn Nets players and composer Philip Glass.
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The concert celebrated a number of milestones: BAM’s 150th anniversary year, its Next Wave Festival’s 30th anniversary and the end of Garth Fagan Dance’s 40th anniverary celebration. The company will bring the concert to Rochester from Nov. 27 to Dec. 2 at Nazareth College Arts Center (although the Wynton Marsalis Septet’s music will be a recording). -
Garth Fagan, Wynton Marsalis pair for new work
About 25 years ago, choreographer Garth Fagan was walking down East Avenue and saw something out of the ordinary. The famous jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis was strolling around, looking rather blue. Marsalis had just performed in Rochester and was having a few band quibbles.
“I picked him up and took him to the studio to see a performance,” says Fagan.
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Garth Fagan and Wynton Marsalis reunite for the world premiere of Lighthouse/Lightning Rod
Brooklyn, NY/August 28, 2012—For the first time since their BAM debut more than 20 years ago, Garth Fagan and Wynton Marsalis return to premiere their new piece, Lighthouse/Lightning Rod along with excerpts from their first work, the beloved Griot New York.
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Lighthouse/Lightning Rod is set to an original score by Wynton Marsalis, is performed live by the Wynton Marsalis Septet, and features scenic design by celebrated visual artist and Guggenheim fellow Alison Saar. The Wynton Marsalis Septet is comprised of Dan Nimmer, Piano; Reginald Veal, Bass; Ali Jackson, Drums; Victor Goines, Saxophone, Clarinet; Wess “Warmdaddy” Anderson, Alto Saxophone; and Eliot Mason, Trombone in addition to Marsalis. -
Marsalis in motion
Using rhythm and music and motion, Wynton Marsalis took a rapt audience through the evolution of the American dance form at a packed Sanders Theatre Thursday night. Keep reading »