Tag Archives: Wynton Marsalis

May 3, 2019 · 4:33 pm

Wynton Marsalis Imagines Buddy Bolden – Interview in JazzTimes

Here’s my JazzTimes interview with Wynton Marsalis about channeling legendary cornetist Buddy Bolden, known as “the man who invented jazz,” for the film Bolden, which opens nationwide today (May 3, 2019). I recommend that everyone who cares about jazz see the film and check out the soundtrack. Wynton and colleagues did a brilliant job imagining what Bolden’s group sounded like – there are no existing recordings of them. He also recreated the excitement of a 1930s-era concert by Louis Armstrong & his Orchestra, with the help of the gifted actor-singer Reno Wilson as Pops.

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April 25, 2019 · 9:54 am

“From Bolden to Armstrong” at JALC Gala Concert

Harry Connick Jr. singing “Stardust” during “The Birth of Jazz: From Bolden to Armstrong,” Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2019 gala concert on April 17.
(Photo: Noam Galai/Getty Images for Jazz At Lincoln Center)

It was quite a night: Harry Connick, Jr., Jon Batiste, Catherine Russell, Sullivan Fortner, Wynton, Branford and Jason Marsalis, among others, in “The Birth of Jazz: From Bolden to Armstrong” at the annual Jazz at Lincoln Center gala on April 17. My review for DownBeat.com.

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Filed under Branford Marsalis, Catherine Russell, Don Vappie, Harry Connick, Jr., Jazz at Lincoln Center, Jon Batiste, Sullivan Fortner, Vince Giordano, Wynton Marsalis

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June 11, 2018 · 10:49 am

Marsalis quintet, plus a few guests named Willie, Bob, Ray and James (DownBeat)

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The blues is the lingua franca on United We Swing: Best Of The Jazz At Lincoln Center Galas (Blue Engine), a new compilation of live performances featuring the Wynton Marsalis Septet. I spoke with Wynton recently about the new album for DownBeat.

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Filed under Blue Engine Records, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, Music Writing and Clips, Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, Wynton Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis

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December 17, 2017 · 7:59 pm

At 56, Wynton Marsalis Reflects on His Induction Into the DownBeat Hall of Fame

Downbeat December 2017 cover

At 56, Marsalis is among the youngest living artists ever inducted into the DownBeat Hall of Fame. If he had only been the leading trumpeter of his generation, there’s little doubt he eventually would have made it into the hallowed hall. But it’s his tireless work as an educator, bandleader, fundraiser, non-profit executive, and advocate for jazz and American culture that probably sealed the deal so soon.  My interview with him, from the December 2017 DownBeat.

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Filed under Aaron Diehl, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Marcus Printup, Music Writing and Clips, Sherman Irby, Wynton Marsalis

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September 19, 2017 · 12:59 pm

Marsalis, JLCO Pay Tribute to Jelly Roll Morton

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Pianists Sullivan Fortner (above), Aaron Diehl, Dan Nimmer, and two excellent student pianists from Julliard (Micah Thomas and Joel Wenhardt) rocked the “House of Swing” in “The Fantastic Mr. Jelly Lord,” the JLCO season opener at Jazz at Lincoln Center last weekend.  My review in DownBeat.

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Filed under Aaron Diehl, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Jelly Roll Morton, JLCO, Sullivan Fortner, Wynton Marsalis

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September 15, 2017 · 5:25 pm

Coming soon – my profile of Wynton Marsalis

Photographer: Luigi Beverelli

Today I had the privilege of sitting down with Wynton Marsalis in his dressing room at Jazz at Lincoln Center for a DownBeat interview, five years after our first meeting. We talked about his career, his evolution as a musician and a human being, his hopes for the future.  Article coming soon.

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July 5, 2015 · 4:38 pm

Jazz at Lincoln Center, Sony Launch “Blue Engine” Label (DownBeat)

Wynton at the launch party, chatting with trumpeter Bria Skonberg. On the left is legendary bari saxophonist Joe Temperley; on the right is pianist Monty Alexander.

Wynton Marsalis at the Blue Engine Records launch party chatting with trumpeter Bria Skonberg. On the left is legendary bari saxophonist Joe Temperley; on the right, pianist Monty Alexander. (photo: Frank Stewart, JALC)

Here’s my report in DownBeat on the launch of Jazz@Lincoln Center’s new record label, Blue Engine. The first release will be the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra w/Wynton Marsalis – Live in Cuba, coming in August.

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Filed under Blue Engine Records, Bria Skonberg, Downbeat, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Joe Temperley, Monty Alexander, Wynton Marsalis

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August 16, 2014 · 3:15 pm

My review of Newport Jazz Festival in DownBeat – Part 2

Dee Dee Bridgewater & band at Newport, August 1, 2014

Here’s the second installment of my two-part review of the 2014 Newport Jazz Festival for DownBeat. It’s my take on the special Friday night concert by Wynton Marsalis, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Dee Dee Bridgewater.

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January 8, 2014 · 11:22 am

Jazz Education for Everybody – Free!

Ted Nash and Joe Temperley - two of the instructors whose videos you can watch for free at JALC's online Jazz Academy.

Ted Nash and Joe Temperley – two of the instructors whose videos you can watch for free at JALC’s online Jazz Academy.

Saxophonists Ted Nash and Joe Temperley are two of the instructors in Wynton Marsalis’ latest venture to make jazz more comprehensible to musicians and fans alike: Jazz at Lincoln Center’s new — and free — online Jazz Academy. You can read about it in my article from the January 2014 DownBeat.

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Filed under Downbeat, Eric Reed, Jazz, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Wynton Marsalis

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November 13, 2012 · 12:41 pm

My profile/interview with Wynton Marsalis from the Dec. 2012 DownBeat

My dinner with Wynton. OK, it was lunch.  Great sushi and even better conversation.  Here’s my interview/profile of him, as published in the December 2012 issue of DownBeat:  “Wynton Marsalis – Profoundly Grateful” (DownBeat, Dec. 2012)

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