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My home is the road
Take your time.” That’s what Wynton Marsalis always says to the musicians on his bandstand. At a New York City recording session) for his acclaimed big-band suite, _Blood On The Fields_, he reminds vocal soloist Miles Griffith to do just that during the work’s moving climax. Keep reading »
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Wynton Marsalis Takes a Long Look at Slavery
Wynton Marsalis’s skills have grown as fast as his ambition, and he is the most ambitious younger composer in jazz. On Friday night at Alice Tully Hall, he led the world premiere of his first work for big band, “Blood on the Fields,” a large composition—nearly three hours of music—about a vast topic, slavery. The piece was commissioned by Jazz at Lincoln Center, of which Mr. Marsalis is the artistic director. Keep reading »
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Wholly Wonderful (If Not Whole) Jazz
JAZZ AT Lincoln Center, the most ambitious American attempt yet to give jazz an institutional base comparable to a major opera company or symphony orchestra, has been the center of controversy ever since it was launched in 1991. Keep reading »
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Lincoln Jazz: Ellington en Masse
As the artistic airector of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis had the privilege of introducing the ensemble at Wolf Trap Sunday night. As fourth trumpet in the band, he was often heard from as well, adding plunger-tones to “Black and Tan Fantasy” and some of the more colorful orchestrations before uncorking a vivid, open-toned reading of “Portrait of Louis Armstrong.” Keep reading »
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The Young Lions’ Roar : Wynton Marsalis and the ‘Neoclassical’ Lincoln Center Orchestra
Halfway through condemning the electronic jazz-funk Miles Davis played in his later years, Wynton Marsalis stops himself. “Don’t print that, all right?” the trumpeter says suddenly. “When (Miles) was alive, I made it clear what I felt about what he was doing, and now that he’s dead I don’t feel I have to say any more about it. Keep reading »