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The Story Behind Wynton Marsalis’ Debut Album
The impact of Wynton Marsalis’ self-titled debut is immeasurable. Released 40 years ago, the album introduced the wider jazz world to a preening trumpeter from New Orleans whose playing synthesized the styles of some of the instrument’s greatest innovators, such as Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Fats Navarro, and Lee Morgan. Keep reading »
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Dr. George Butler: Executive Honor
Elegant. Exemplary. Erudite. Enigmatic. Those four words best describe the late Dr. George Butler, a seminal figure in the rise of the 1980s and ’90s “young lions” movement in jazz. As an executive producer and A&R vice president for jazz and progressive music at Columbia Records, he shepherded the early careers of stars such as Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, and Harry Connick Jr. Keep reading »
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Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Septet in Pennsylvania
For JazzTimes’ (and this writer’s) first time back to physical, face-front-to-the-stage live performance in more than a year, one thing was certain: It was spooky. George-Romero-Night-of-the-Living-Dead-flesh-eating-ghouls-spooky-meets-Dustin Hoffman-Morgan-Freeman-Outbreak-style-spooky, what with the venue’s house lights remaining up during the show and a (literally) spaced-out audience in masked, rapt attention. And yet it was all so cathartic too, joyous and holy. Keep reading »
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Wynton Marsalis Imagines Buddy Bolden
Nearly 120 years after his heyday in New Orleans, Charles “Buddy” Bolden, the cornet player and bandleader widely credited with inventing jazz at the dawn of the 20th century, may finally be about to get the attention he deserves. Keep reading »
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Wynton Marsalis & Ethan Iverson: A Conversation on Jazz & Race
At the inaugural Jazz Congress, co-produced by Jazz at Lincoln Center and JazzTimes in New York City on Jan. 11-12, among the most anticipated events was a conversation on jazz and race featuring JALC managing and artistic director Wynton Marsalis and Ethan Iverson, a founding member of the Bad Plus, an important jazz blogger and a pianist with a deep reverence for jazz history. Moderated by artist manager/consultant Andre Guess, the hour-long conversation in JALC’s the Appel Room moved swiftly through ideas and anecdotes while never losing its feeling of diplomacy and mutual respect. Here are some highlights. Keep reading »
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For Wynton Marsalis, forgetting the roots of jazz is forgetting the history of race in America
JALC is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and Marsalis is showing no signs of slowing down. He has never been one to shy away from speaking his mind on the record as well as on issues of race. He won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for his jazz oratorio Blood on the Fields, which deals with slavery, and the content from his 2007 album From the Plantation to the Penitentiary is self-explanatory. Keep reading »
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First annual jazz conference to be held at Jazz at Lincoln Center
Jazz at Lincoln Center and JazzTimes have joined forces to co-produce the Jazz Congress, a new annual conference designed to bring together artists, media and industry leaders in the global jazz community to exchange ideas in order to nurture and grow the jazz community and the underlying business and organizations that promote, produce, present, market and support the music. Keep reading »
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The Gig: JALC Takes Over Jazz.org
What’s in a name? How about a domain name? That rhetorical question has hung in the air, at least for some among us, since it came to light that Jazz at Lincoln Center had changed its web domain from jalc.org to jazz.org. Keep reading »
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Wynton Marsalis: Swinging Into the 21st
If we call an artist who averages an album per year prolific, what then to say about Wynton Marsalis’ output of 1999-2000? During that period Marsalis released nine albums, each showcasing a different sector within his domain. Marsalis called the series Swinging Into the 21st, and that run of albums has now been compiled into an 11-disc box set that also includes All Rise, Marsalis’ monumental 2002 orchestral/vocal project. Keep reading »
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An Evening With Roy Haynes at Jazz at Lincoln Center
Fresh off his participation in Sonny Rollins’ 80th birthday gala at the Beacon Theater two weeks earlier, drumming legend Roy Haynes had his own special day before a packed house at spacious Rose Theater in celebration of his 85th birthday. (Haynes had been feted earlier this year during a week-long engagement at the Blue Note around the time of his actual birthday on March 13). Keep reading »