Wynton Marsalis

Wynton Marsalis a toujours eu à cœur de présenter un programme original pour Jazz in Marciac. Cette année, son nouveau projet avec Edouard Baer pour la première fois et en exclusivité pour le public de Marciac est en cours de préparation... Que nous concocteront-t-ils ? Mystère ! pic.twitter.com/FrRcAPyOeN

— Jazz in Marciac (@Jazz_in_Marciac) April 1, 2019

Wynton Marsalis & The Young Stars of Jazz

Marciac Jazz Festival 2016

Wynton Marsalis - trumpet
Michela Marino Lerman - tap
Anthony Hervey - trumpet
Sam Chess - trombone
Ruben Fox - saxophone
Patrick Bartley - saxophone
Julian Lee - saxophone
Mathis Picard - piano
Joel Ross vibraphone
Gabe Schnider - guitar
Russell Hall - bass
Kyle Poole - drums

#WyntonMarsalis & The Young Stars of Jazz - "Take The 'A' Train"

Publicado em 10 de out de 2017
Marciac Jazz Festival 2016

Wynton Marsalis - trumpet
Michela Marino Lerman - tap
Anthony Hervey - trumpet
Sam Chess - trombone
Ruben Fox - saxophone
Patrick Bartley - saxophone
Julian Lee - saxophone
Mathis Picard - piano
Joel Ross vibraphone
Gabe Schnider - guitar
Russell Hall - bass
Kyle Poole - drums

Property of Wynton Marsalis Enterprises

"Jingle Bells" by #WyntonMarsalis & Friends

Jazz musician Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra hit all the right notes in this rendition of "Jingle Bells," performed with the help Marsalis’ daughter, Oni Marsalis, on vocals.

VERY EARLY - JLCO with Wynton Marsalis ft. Joey Alexander

Very Early
From HANDFUL OF KEYS
Composed by Bill Evans
September 22, 2016
Rose Theater

Young piano prodigy Joey Alexander joins the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis for a lively stroll through Walter Blanding's arrangement of Bill Evans's composition, "Very Early." This is the second single off the JLCO's upcoming album "Handful of Keys," out Sept. 15.

Order "Handful of Keys" from our webstore: http://ow.ly/Jbtj30euNDG

Order the deluxe bundle of "Handful of Keys," featuring JALC 30th Anniversary gear, from our webstore: http://ow.ly/fz0D30euNBM

Personnel:
Sherman Irby - Alto saxophone
Ted Nash - Alto saxophone
Victor Goines - Tenor saxophone
Walter Blanding - Tenor saxophone
Paul Nedzela - Baritone saxophone
Vincent Gardner - Trombone
Chris Crenshaw - Trombone
Elliot Mason - Trombone
Greg Gisbert - Trumpet
Kenny Rampton - Trumpet
Marcus Printup - Trumpet
Wynton Marsalis - Trumpet
Joey Alexander - Piano
Carlos Henriquez - Bass
Ali Jackson - Drums

Wynton Marsalis and Jon Batiste ....

Published on Apr 3, 2017

The new album, "The Music of John Lewis," is a tribute to the late jazz composer and pianist. Lewis was a mentor to Wynton Marsalis, the album's executive producer. Marsalis and "Late Show" bandleader Jon Batiste, who plays in the album, joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss Lewis' impact on jazz and President Trump's proposed budget cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the "CBS This Morning" Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/1Q0v2hE
Watch "CBS This Morning" HERE: http://bit.ly/1T88yAR
Watch the latest installment of "Note to Self," only on "CBS This Morning," HERE: http://cbsn.ws/1Sh8XlB
Follow "CBS This Morning" on Instagram HERE: http://bit.ly/1Q7NGnY
Like "CBS This Morning" on Facebook HERE: http://on.fb.me/1LhtdvI
Follow "CBS This Morning" on Twitter HERE: http://bit.ly/1Xj5W3p
Follow "CBS This Morning" on Google+ HERE: http://bit.ly/1SIM4I8

#WyntonMarsalis

#tbt On discipline and practice in music... https://t.co/6D7KJZkB5Y

— Wynton Marsalis (@wyntonmarsalis) September 1, 2016

Saxophonist Joe Temperley has died

12 May 2016 Last updated at 11:28 BST

Scottish saxophonist Joe Temperley has died at the age of 86 in New York.
The Fife man played with some of the finest jazz musicians including The Duke Ellington Band, Woody Herman and the Humphrey Lyttleton Band.

One of the most respected jazz saxophonists in the world, Temperley, from Lochgelly in Fife, passed away on Wednesday.

He left Scotland for London in the 1950s and played in Humphrey Lyttelton's band before moving to North America in the 1960s.

Temperley, who started playing the sax when he was 14, took the baritone chair in the Duke Ellington Orchestra.

In recent years he had been a long-serving member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, under Wynton Marsalis.


He visited the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival in 2009.

read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-36270946

Published on Aug 7, 2015

For 25 years, the baritone saxophone chair of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra has been held by a one Joe Temperley. The Scottish musician, now 85, carries tons of credits to his C.V., especially with big bands: Thad Jones, Mel Lewis, Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, Clark Terry and — most notably — the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Jazz Night In America visits Jazz at Lincoln Center as the JLCO salutes its elder statesman, featuring Temperley on his favorite Ellington tunes and a new concerto that managing and artistic director Wynton Marsalis dedicated to his longtime colleague.

SETLIST
5:11 ‘Creole Love Call’
14:11 ‘Joe’s Concerto: Movement 1’
22:50 ‘Joe’s Concerto: Movement II’
27:38 ‘Joe’s Concerto: Movement III’
31:55 ‘Joe’s Concerto: Movement IV’
37:41 ‘Joe’s Concerto: Movement V’
46:07 ‘Symphonette’
52:48 ‘The Single Petal of a Rose’

MUSICIANS
Joe Temperley, Wynton Marsalis, Walter Blanding, Chris Crenshaw, Vincent Gardner, Victor Goines, Carlos Henriquez, Sherman Irby, Ali Jackson, Ryan Kisor, Elliot Mason, Ted Nash, Paul Nedzela, Dan Nimmer, Marcus Printup, Kenny Rampton

CREDITS
Producers: Josie Holtzman, Patrick Jarenwattananon, Nick Michael / Editor: Colin Marshall / Additional Video: Brandon Bain / Concert Video Director: James Sapione / Concert Videographers: Hiram Becker, Andrew Trost / Audio Engineer: Rob Macomber / Special Thanks: Eugenia Han, Justin Bias / Executive Producer: Anya Grundmann

Galliano and Marsalis - La Vie En Rose

Uploaded on Mar 26, 2009

Richard Galliano and Wynton Marsalis - La Vie En Rose - Jazz in Marciac 2008

Wynton Marsalis Septet 1994 ~ Joe Cool's Blues (Snoopy's Return)

Uploaded on Jun 23, 2011

Recorded: New Orleans, LA, Brooklyn, NY April 12, June 14, August 25, 1994

Personnel:
Wynton Marsalis - Trumpet
Wessell Anderson - Alto / Soprano Sax (sits out)
Victor Gaines - Tenor Sax / Clarinet (sits out)
Wycliffe Gordon - Trombone (sits out)
Eric Reed - Piano
Benjamin Wolfe - Bass
Herlin Riley - Drums

Wynton Marsalis' Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will return to South America after 10 years

FILE - In this Jan. 30, 2014 file photo 

By Charles J. Gans, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press
Tue, 27 Jan, 2015
NEW YORK, N.Y. - The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis will tour South America in March for the first time in 10 years.

JALC announced Tuesday that the 12-city tour kicks off Feb. 27 in New York and will visit Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Mexico and six South American countries. The program will celebrate the influence of musical traditions from throughout the Americas on jazz.


In an email, Marsalis says "music from the Afro-Latin Diaspora forms one of the fundamental pillars of jazz expression," starting with Jelly Roll Morton and echoing through the generations.

read more: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/wynton-marsalis-jazz-lincoln-center-orchestra-return-south-153703770.html

Live From Birmingham: Tom Harrison, Tad Newton, Wynton Marsalis & Monocled Man

By MARTIN LONGLEY, Published: July 1, 2014
Tom Harrison
The Bartons Arms
June 6, 2014 

Some of Tom Harrison's band sidemen are more familiar to seasoned UK jazz fans than the leader himself, but the London saxophonist's film music project will doubtless contribute to improving his own profile. It's the kind of conceptual set-up that is likely to appeal to promoters looking for a unique direction, and will be particularly appealing for festival programmers. The Birmingham Jazz team made one of their occasional forays to a different pub, moving from The Red Lion in the Jewellery Quarter to The Bartons Arms, which is a few steps away from The Drum arts centre in Aston.

This is one of the most impressive quafferies in Birmingham, both architecturally, and in terms of its beery contents, courtesy of Oakham Ales. The gig was staged in the upstairs room that has long hosted jazz gigs, stretching back three decades to drummer Tony Levin's fondly-remembered guest-inviting sessions. The space is ideal, but one small gripe is that the heavy reservation of all the room's large round tables had the effect of creating an atmosphere of established exclusivity, as a first impression given to the newcomer. 

The original idea was to allow more stage-space for Robert Mitchell's piano, but in the end he decided to bring along his electric keyboard. Mitchell is a renowned bandleader himself, not averse to conceptual compositions. Completing the quartet were bassist Ryan Trebilcock and drummer Dave Lyttle, the latter coming across from Ireland. The bass position was originally advertised as being taken by the American-in-London Michael Janisch, who was later replaced by Larry Bartley, with Trebilcock making the ultimate fleshly appearance. This was no massive disappointment, as he's one of the finest bassists on the scene, and a regular visitor to Birmingham. 

Harrison adopted a very personalised approach to selecting the movie themes used as his inspiration and impetus. The first piece was of suite-length, stretching to around 30 minutes, "Scrambled Egos" responding to the Stateside chemistry teacher/crack-dealer black comedy series Breaking Bad. Except that Harrison's work didn't particularly evoke the mood of that show, sounding light rather than dark, mellow as opposed to tense. Nevertheless, that didn't prevent Harrison's themes from being engaging.

Percussionist Lyttle immediately gripped the attention, his resourceful techniques adding a sense of unpredictability, as he made sharp cymbal-scrapes, rim-rattles and suddenly dropped the sticks to play with his hands. Next up was a response to John Carpenter's Halloween, which avoided calling to mind the original music, but once again provided something else of satisfying substance. The first set's best playing, in terms of ensemble thematic development and individual soloing was "The Shadow Of Your Smile," taken from The Sandpiper, a 1965 flick which featured Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, with the song popularised by Tony Bennett.

The condensed melodic substance acted in sharp contrast to the leisurely unwinding of the previous pieces, making a strategically strong move towards convention which was actually quite arresting. Again, Lyttle was making fast hand-flashes, this time across the hi-hat, and Harrison delivered his most striking alto solo of the set, providing a suitable climax. The second set had another surprise in store, with a funked-up strut through Star Wars. These are not the themes that we'd normally expect from a film music project, particularly not nestled together. The Sandpiper meets Star Wars? Where else could we savour such a choice pairing?
read more: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/live-from-birmingham-tom-harrison-tad-newton-wynton-marsalis-and-monocled-man-by-martin-longley.php#.U7KdDBadp3g

Wynton Marsalis presents a jazz history lesson

MARCH 25, 2014 AT 1:00 AM

CHARLES J. GANS ASSOCIATED PRESS

 (Photos by Frank Stewart)

Wynton Marsalis has taken his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra all the way to China and Russia, and on Sunday is performing at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor.

The Orchestra has performed everything from early New Orleans jazz to Ornette Coleman’s modern jazz as well as classic tunes by Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Dave Brubeck, and compositions by contemporary jazz musicians, including several JLCO members.

“This is probably the most flexible ensemble ever in the history of jazz because we have to play so many different styles of music,” said Marsalis, JLCO’s music director.

Last fall, Marsalis released “The Spiritual Side of Wynton Marsalis.”

The album is a 15-track collection of spiritually inspired works he recorded from 1988 to 2002. It includes selections from “In This House, on This Morning,” Marsalis’ first commissioned work for Jazz at Lincoln Center in 1992, capturing the feeling of a Sunday morning church service in the South.

The trumpeter said its recent “Abyssinian: A Gospel Celebration Tour” was the most challenging in the band’s 25-year history.

The tour of U.S. performing arts centers and churches involved a convoy of four buses and an equipment truck. The 15-piece orchestra and the 70-voice Chorale Le Chateau conducted by Damien Sneed performed Marsalis’ “Abyssinian 200: A Celebration,” an extended work blending gospel and jazz traditions he wrote in 2008 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church.

“There’s never been a tour where a jazz band and a big choir like this went on the road and played a piece like this,” Marsalis said in a telephone interview. “It’s definitely a spiritual experience when you get the choir and the band and the congregation in there together.”

The piece, based on the liturgy used in many African-American Baptist churches, draws on diverse influences. These include the lessons Marsalis learned from his music professor father about traditional spirituals, hymns and gospel music, his own experiences as a classical trumpeter performing the religious works of Bach, Handel and Palestrina, and his vast knowledge of jazz styles going back to the music’s roots in his native New Orleans.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140325/ENT04/303250002#ixzz2xPQb0zkP

Wynton Marsalis brings the ‘Abyssinian Mass’ tour to the Saenger

By Geraldine Wyckoff
Contributing Writer
Photo by Frank Stewart

When Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra plus a 70-piece choir fill the stage of the newly renovated Saenger Theatre on Sunday, October 13, it should prove to be a magnificent sight – and sound.

Marsalis, the New Orleans born, internationally renowned trumpeter, multiple Grammy winner and the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, assembled this impressive group of musicians and vocalists, which is presently touring, to perform his ambitious work, “Abys­sinian Mass.” He composed the piece in 2008 in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Harlem’s historic Abyssinian Baptist Church. The epic suite, which Marsalis explains, follows the form of a Baptist church mass, has, at this writing, only been heard twice before in New York and London.

“Everything is coming out of the same tradition,” says Marsalis of combining the jazz orchestra with a gospel choir. “Church has always been a part of the (jazz) music. Like in the beginning, (trumpeter)Buddy Bolden’s music had church music in it. So it’s not like a stretch to put jazz in the context of church music.”

Perhaps in New Orleans, we are more acutely aware of the close relationship that co-exists between jazz and hymns. Tunes like “Just a Closer Walk with Thee” and even “When the Saints Go Marching In” are regularly played by brass bands on the streets and by traditional jazz groups in the clubs. (The “Saints,” of course, gets particularly raucous at the Dome.) As Marsalis points out, however, those gospel artists and fans of other secular styles who’ve crossed the line into the more commercial idioms have often been severely criticized.

“It was separated because of the whole secular/sacred conundrum,” continues Marsalis who has successfully combined the genres previously on albums such as 1994’s In This House, On This Morning, 1997’s Blood on the Fields and 2002’s All Rise. As an example of the longtime conflict between purveyors of gospel music and not only jazz but blues, rock ‘n roll, soul and all secular music, Marsalis begins quoting the lyrics of composer W.C.

Handy’s and lyricist J. Tim Byrman’s 1920 song, “Aunt Hagar’s Blues.” As it goes, a Deacon declares to his congregation: “…no wingin’, no ragtime singin’ tonight.” However church member Aunt Hagar doesn’t go along with that, saying, “If the devil brought it, the good Lord sent it right down to me.” (Incidentally, the funeral services for W.C. Handy were held at the Abyssinian Baptist Church.)

As usual when Marsalis is working with his 15-piece orchestra, he’ll be blowing with the guys in the trumpet section that features notable Marcus Printup. Damien Sneed will conduct the orchestra and his Chorale Le Chateau, an outstanding group of singers from various churches and vocal ensembles.

“He’s a young cat — a bad conductor,” Marsalis praises, mentioning that Sneed memorized and learned to sing the entirety of his “Abyssinian Mass” so he could teach it to the choir. “That’s a lot of singing — there’s a lot of notes in it!” the composer exclaims.

When it comes to jazz, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, swing is the thing.

“That’s just what they want to do,” Marsalis says of the musicians in the band that include another remarkable New Orleanian, reedman Victor Goines. “They’ve been doing it a long time. They’re dedicated to it. The whole band, they’re for real. The band is virtuosic. You’re not going to hear a band like that and the choir is not going to let the band outdo them so it should be interesting. The big band is playing and we’re playing a lot so there’s a lot of jazz element in it. I like to put all kinds of the different music together. I don’t like just one kind of music.”

Read more: http://www.louisianaweekly.com/wynton-marsalis-brings-the-abyssinian-mass-tour-to-the-saenger/

Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton - Layla

After some talking to the audience by Clapton, which is very rare, the band play a fantastic New Orleans version of Clapton's most famous song.
Recorded April 2011, Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York City.

Jazz legend Wynton Marsalis to perform in S.Africa

Photo: Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Famed American trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis shared memories of his childhood and played a few tunes Tuesday in South Africa as a prelude to headlining Johannesburg's annual jazz festival.

Marsalis talked about his life Tuesday during a question-and-answer session at Johannesburg's Market Theatre. Later this week, he will perform at the city's Joy of Jazz festival.

As a trumpeter, Marsalis has won both jazz and classical Grammy awards. As a composer, he was the first jazz artist to win the Pulitzer Prize, in 1997 for "Blood on the Fields," a three-hour work for singers and jazz orchestra that explores the themes of slavery and the creativity of black Americans.

Marsalis' tribute to black American music has not ignored its African roots. His "Congo Square" evokes a New Orleans neighborhood where African slaves performed ancestral dancing and music, and was written for drumming for jazz orchestra and Ghanaian percussionists and singers.

Sibongile Khumalo, one of South Africa's best-loved singers, welcomed him Tuesday as a "cultural activist" to the Market Theatre. Under white racist rule, multiracial audiences and casts challenged apartheid with original art at the Market.

Marsalis, holding his trumpet lightly between his knees, described growing up in a large family in small Louisiana towns.

"We lived in the South, they grew up in segregation," he said of his parents. "It wasn't a picnic."

His jazz pianist father found work scarce as audiences turned to rhythm and blues. The racial turmoil of the time and the nascent women's movement created new stresses for his family, he said. He said other boys in his neighborhood were fatherless.

"They'd want to come sit in my house to see what it was like to have a dad," said Marsalis, who also treated the small audience gathered on a Tuesday morning to a sampling of his trumpet playing.

He praised his father's integrity and his mother's intelligence, and said both were optimists.

John Kani, an internationally known South African actor and former director of the Market Theatre, said South Africans also were optimists after decades of struggle. Kani, who took part in Tuesday's question-and-answer session, said Marsalis's visit was testament to a growing culture of jazz appreciation in South Africa, which has its own rich musical traditions.

Khumalo asked Marsalis whether his drive to succeed was in part for his father.

"It was definitely for him," said Marsalis, whose brothers include trombonist Delfeayo, saxophonist Branford and drummer Jason.

http://news.yahoo.com/jazz-legend-wynton-marsalis-perform-africa-102905014.html;_ylc=X3oDMTEwaWkwZzhmBF9TAzIwMjM4Mjc1MjQEZW1haWxJZAMxMzE0MDk2MzE3

Buggy Ride - Wynton Marsalis Septet

On 4/5/95 the Wynton Marsalis Septet performed "Buggy Ride" for a Columbia Jazz Special.
Sidemen include: Wycliffe Gordon (trombone), Wessell Anderson (alto), Victor Goines (tenor), Herlin Riley (drums), Marcus Roberts (piano), Ben Wolfe (bass).

"Buggy Ride" was first released on "Joe Cool's Blues"
http://www.wyntonmarsalis.org/​discography/​jazz/​joe-cools-blues/

Wynton Marsalis Premieres Swing Symphony

New symphony also to be streamed in the “Digital Concert Hall”

By Aubrey Everett
For fans who cannot easily hop a flight to Berlin, Germany to join Wynton Marsalis for the premiere of his new Swing Symphony, an internet connection is all you really need. Listeners are invited to enter the “Digital Concert Hall”, provided by the Berliner Philharmoniker, to view Marsalis’ performance live. Marsalis will premiere his Swing Symphony (Symphony No. 3) with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the Berliner Philharmoniker led by Sir Simon Rattle on June 9 and 10 at The Philharmonie.

An interpretation of Igor Stravinsky’s Petrushka will also be performed at the event. The entire performance will be broadcast live in HD on June 10 at 2 p.m. EST. Tickets must be purchased to view the event online, and cost 9.90 EURO (roughly $11.82 USD). The “Digital Concert Hall” on the Berliner Philharmoniker’s Web site opens 15 minutes prior to the event.

The score for the symphony, commissioned by the Stiftung Berliner Philharmoniker, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, and the Barbican Centre, London, will later serve as the basis for a new dance work choreographed by Rhys Martin and performed by 170 Berlin schoolchildren at the Arena Berlin in Treptow on June 12 and 13.

Marsalis’ Symphonies No. 1 and 2, All Rise and Blues Symphony respectively, came before this current piece of symphonic work. All Rise is a 12-movement work for symphony orchestra, jazz orchestra and choir, and blends the sounds of jazz, blues, classical and indigenous music from around the world. Blues Symphony is Marsalis’ first work written solely for symphony orchestra and celebrates the blues through the prism of different moments in American history.
http://jazztimes.com/sections/news/articles/26166-wynton-marsalis-premieres-swing-symphony

Acclaimed trumpeter Wynton Marsalis keeps jazz alive and in Turlock

Wynton Marsalis might not be one to blow his own horn. But to increase an appreciation of -- and audience for -- jazz music, his colleagues are happy to do it for him. "He's inspiring, and that's not only because he's such a great trumpet player and committed to playing his best, but because he approaches the music and everything around him with no ego," said composer/musician Ted Nash, who will perform with Marsalis on Thursday in Turlock as a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. "He embraces everybody. He loves to see that people are interested in music." Trumpeter Marsalis is one of the country's most respected jazz musicians and the recipient of the first Pulitzer Prize in Music. He has recorded more than 30 albums, earned nine Grammy Awards and collaborated with such diverse artists as country singer Willie Nelson and filmmaker Ken Burns. He performed last week for presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and other dignitaries at a memorial service honoring famed CBS newsman Walter Cronkite.

The Turlock concert will feature a variety of jazz, performed by 15 top soloists and ensemble players. The New York City-based Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is part of a program designed to inspire and increase the audience for jazz. The group will play everything from lesser-known works by Duke Ellington like "The Tattooed Bride" to recent pieces written for the band by Marsalis and Nash. One of Nash's pieces that will be included is "Portrait in Seven Shades," dedicated to seven painters. "I think what people really enjoy is to see and hear different aspects of jazz music," Nash, who performs saxophone, clarinet and flute in the group, said in a phone interview from a tour stop in Banff, Canada. Jazz musicians are working harder to draw more listeners as their fan base has declined. "We're losing a lot of our audience," Nash said. "People who have been listening to jazz for the last 30 or 40 years are getting old or dying. They're not going out to concerts."

At the same time, he said he is optimistic about the future. He is heartened by the number of young people he sees in the auditorium seats at the orchestra's shows. Nash thinks the key to building interest is to expose kids to the music early and to get people of all ages out to live shows. Just listening to recordings doesn't cut it. He said many of his friends who were jazz skeptics turned around when they came to a concert. "People say, 'Oh, my God, I had no idea it was so full of expression and interesting,'
Lisa Millegan

From The Modesto Bee, Calif.
http://my.earthlink.net/article/ent?guid=20090917/4ab313d0_3490_1345620090918796101522

Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis: Live From Jazz at Lincoln Center, NYC

Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis
Live From Jazz at Lincoln Center, NYC
Eagle Rock Entertainment
2008

Singer Willie Nelson, country music outlaw, and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, jazz music ideologist, may well have seemed strange bedfellows when it came to performing together. This DVD of their concerts at the Lincoln Center perishes that notion.
Nelson has long been a singer without fetters. He interprets songs uniquely, his phrasing drawing every little emotion out of a word. Jazz may not have come his way, but that did not stop him from getting right into the groove with Marsalis and his band. He sings, as always, with a country twang and a low register drawl that almost dips into spoken word.

In one of the interviews that intersect the performances, Marsalis says that all music comes from the blues and demonstrates the rhythmic patterns to show how. His analysis is sound and he moves that into his arrangements, core to making the collaboration successful.
Marsalis's band comprising Dan Nimmer (piano), Carlos Henriquez (bass), Ali Jackson Jr. (drums) and Walter Blanding (tenor and soprano saxophones) is spontaneous in its execution. But the big surprise is Mickey Raphael (harmonica), who has long worked with Nelson. He references his playing with a resolute understanding of the idiom adding an edginess that jumps up from the guts.

Both country and jazz standards went into the programme filmed over two nights at the Allen Room of the Frederick P. Rose Hall. The two streams flow side by side and converge, without losing their impact.
"Georgia On My Mind" is a slow blues with Nimmer lighting the first glow on the piano. Nelson takes it down a country road but his timing fits right into the deliberate blues groove. If there was any doubt about Nelson's ability to get into a jazz frame, it is dispelled by "Basin street Blues." His interpretation and his sense of time and phrase are just delightful. Two blues tunes, two approaches, both successful in their adaptation, show how musical genres can be assimilated successfully.

Marsalis and Nelson have fun singing on "Ain't Nobody's Business" and on the country gospel "That's All." By the time "Down By The Riverside" comes around, the whole group has created a happy, exhilarating atmosphere.
This was an exceptional event. It worked because both Marsalis and Nelson were willing to look beyond the obvious—and they had a band who felt that wholeheartedly as well.

Tracks:
Rainy Day Blues; Georgia On My Mind; Bright Lights Big City; Basin street Blues; Caldonia; Night Life; Stardust; My Bucket's Got A Hole In It; Ain't Nobody's Business; Don't Get Around Much Anymore; Sweet Georgia Brown; That's All; Down By The Riverside.

Personnel:
Willie Nelson: guitar;
Wynton Marsalis: trumpet;
Mickey Raphael: harmonica;
Dan Nimmer: piano;
Carlos Henriquez: bass;
Ali Jackson: drums;
Walter Blanding: saxophone.

Production Notes: 85 minutes. Recorded: January 12 & 13, 2007.
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=32982