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New York Diarist: Strength in Swing
Immediately following the landing of Hurricane Katrina, I received hundreds of phone calls from all over the world. They offered sympathy and resources. I don’t get those phone calls now. The ones I receive now are rife with disgust at bureaucratic fumbling, with rage at an unspecified they who are in charge of everything from predicting which levees would break to choosing which people will return. They made it happen.
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35 Who Made a Difference: Wynton Marsalis
“We’re blues people. And blues never lets tragedy have the last word.” This is an utterly characteristic statement by Wynton Marsalis, the trumpeter, composer and jazz impresario. He spoke those words in a television interview shortly after Hurricane Katrina devastated his hometown of New Orleans. Within days he was playing in gigs to raise money for Katrina victims, including a huge benefit concert, “Higher Ground,” produced by Jazz At Lincoln Center, of which he is the artistic director. It has raised more than $2 million. Bob Dylan once remarked that a hero was “someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom.” By that measure, Marsalis is a hero bona fide.
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Combining Forces to Revive the Soul of New Orleans
Music is the soul of society, the heart of culture. So, at least, it was variously pronounced by the likes of Itzhak Perlman and Beverly Sills in the course of an evening devoted to bringing it back. “Bringing Back the Music” was the title of the New York Philharmonic’s joint benefit concert with and for the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra on Friday night at Avery Fisher Hall. New Orleans, of course, was the intended destination of this particular return: orchestral music in other American cities will have to continue to fend for itself.
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Listen to Wynton speaking at National Press Club 2005
Wynton spoke at a National Press Luncheon titled “Higher Ground: Hurricane Relief and Rebuilding in New Orleans.” He said that less should be focused on what “they” didn’t do, but what “we” could do to help the hurricane ravaged city. Mr. Marsalis also talked about the influence of jazz musicians and its roots in New Orleans on the social consciousness of Americans. Following his speech, Mr. Marsalis responded to questions and comments submitted by members of the audience.
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Higher Ground benefit CD will be released soon
On November 22, 2005, Blue Note Records will release Higher Ground, a CD that documents Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert, a landmark evening of musical offering that was mounted by Wynton on September 17, less than three weeks after Hurricane Katrina imparted its devastation upon the Gulf Coast.
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Wynton Marsalis to speak at National Press Club luncheon 2005
Wynton will speak October 20 at a National Press Club luncheon.
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The NPC luncheon will begin promptly at 12:30 p.m., with Wynton’s address starting just after 1 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session.
Advance reservations should be made by telephoning 202-662-7501. Cost of the luncheon is $16 for NPC members, $28 for their guests and $35 for general admission. -
Wynton and Dr. Ken Mask look to build libraries in the homes of hurricane Katrina victims
After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Dr. Ken Mask who runs the non-profit “Books To You” in New Orleans, turned to close friends and supporters, one being Wynton Marsalis to help restore the precious books that washed away in the Hurricane’s flood. Dr. Mask would like to do more than just restore books.
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Higher Ground benefit concert reviewed on New York Times
True to New Orleans ritual, “Higher Ground”—the benefit for Hurricane Katrina relief at the Rose Theater on Saturday night—opened with a processional and wound up with a parade.
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Native Son: Wynton Marsalis
Born in New Orleans in 1961, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis is the most prominent member of one of the city’s esteemed jazz families. He has won nine jazz and classical Grammys since 1983, and he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1997 for his jazz opera Blood on the Fields. He is the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York.
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Listen to the whole Higher Ground Concert at Lincoln Center
The “Higher Ground” concert held Saturday at New York’s Rose Theater is now available for listening on NPR.org.
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Among the other tunes, there’s also a new piece that Wynton wrote and dedicated to the people of New Orleans, entitled: Ain’ No (Which song??)