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‘Congo Square’ a Jazz Suite of Epic Proportions
Jubilant, swinging, earthy, romantic, dissonant—“Congo Square,” the new jazz suite composed by Wynton Marsalis and 75-year-old Ghanaian percussionist Yacub Addy, is many things. Tidy, however, isn’t one of them. Keep reading »
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Higher Ground CD reviewed by Washington Post
Hitting Katrina From Two Directions
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There are nearly 10 benefit albums with Hurricane Katrina on their minds, and doubtless more are coming. Bring ‘em on. In theory, at least, when it comes to raising relief funds through music, everyone wins. -
Marsalis’s ‘Human Nature’: Engaging Fairy Tale
“Suite for Human Nature” seems a terribly dull title for a jazz fable, especially one as whimsical and charming as Wynton Marsalis’s latest extended work, which had its world premiere at the Lincoln Theater on Friday night. The renowned trumpeter and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer has written more ambitious and complex orchestral pieces, but none more playfully engaging and family-friendly. Keep reading »
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Marsalis, Jazz’s Jack-of-All-Trades
WYNTON MARSALIS is a haberdasher’s dream—the cat in many hats. In fact, Marsalis wears multiple hats with such confidence and style that it hardly matters which one is sitting atop another in a Dr. Seuss-like pileup. Keep reading »
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Wynton Marsalis’s Glancing Blow
Back in 1970 Miles Davis provided music for a documentary on Jack Johnson, the African American boxer who reigned during the first two decades of the past century. The result sounded like Miles Davis music circa 1970—funky, brashly electric and defiantly anachronistic. Keep reading »
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Marsalis and Company, Playing With Fire
When trumpeter and Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra artistic director Wynton Marsalis announced that the ensemble was about to perform “Resolution” from John Coltrane’s masterwork “A Love Supreme” at the Kennedy Center on Sunday night, a member of the audience offered a little unsolicited advice: “Don’t mess it up!” Keep reading »
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Wynton Marsalis “All Rise” Son ...
The ambition of Wynton Marsalis’s epic composition, “All Rise,” can be measured by the sheer number and variety of the people gathered to perform it. The two-CD set involves the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and three separate choral groups: the Paul Smith Singers, the Northridge Singers and Baltimore’s Morgan State University Choir. Keep reading »
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Marsalis Swings Aboard His ‘Big Train’
Wynton Marsalis apparently wants to begin the New Year with a new slate. In the latter half of this year, no fewer than eight albums bearing the name of the Pulitzer Prize-winning trumpeter and composer will reach stores under the banner of “Swinging Into the 21st.” Keep reading »
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Ellington: The Keys To a Life
Toward the beginning of “Swingin’ With Duke,” Wynton Marsalis suggests that “when you start to play Duke Ellington’s music, you start to feel how he lived in the world.” Keep reading »
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Wynton Marsalis on Billy Taylor’s Jazz at the Kennedy Center
When the producers of the NPR program “Billy Taylor’s Jazz at the Kennedy Center” edit the show that was taped with guest Wynton Marsalis at the Terrace Theater Monday night, they’ll have trouble deciding what to emphasize: the trumpeter’s words or his music. Keep reading »