Anyone who was in their middle- or high-school jazz band knows the classical setup. There's the rhythm section, with drums, bass and piano, and the brass section, with sax, trombone and trumpet. Now, fill those sections with the finest musicians possible. There is no other way to say it: Wynton Marsalis and his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra are the perfect jazz band.
Marsalis, New Orleans-born and Julliard-trained, is a classical and jazz trumpet prodigy who has won nine Grammy Awards. Now the artistic director of the nationally touring JLCO, Marsalis appeared at the Kennedy Center over spring break for the 19th time since 1983.
With his Brooks Brothers suit, closely buzzed hair and baby face, Marsalis lead the musicians on stage. Perched in the back row of the bandstand with the other three trumpets, Marsalis announced the songs and explained that the band would play "the songs we love." He said that they would all be recognizable, and he did not disappoint. As Marsalis snapped and counted off the first song, "On the Sunny Side of the Street," it was clear that he was most interested in performing swinging arrangements of the classics.
Seen as a sort of messiah of modern jazz in the early '80s, Marsalis is praised for establishing a future for jazz and giving new hope of further innovation to lovers of the genre. He has also received some criticism for his views on contemporary jazz, his dismissal of hip-hop and his closeness in style to Miles Davis. However, it is clear that Marsalis has distinguished himself as a composer and performer as well as an advocate for the arts and an educator. He is one of the most famous jazz musicians alive.
While Marsalis, who has artistically directed the JLCO since 1991, had no problem taking a five-minute solo in "What Is This Thing Called Love?" in which he walked to the front of the stage and back, he was also happy to share the spotlight with his fellow musicians. Each member of the 15-piece group was clearly independently talented. For instance, Joe Temperly, who played baritone and soprano saxophones and bass clarinet, had a blunt style with which he chastised the audience when they clapped at the wrong time and made him stand out amongst the five saxophone players.
Marsalis was able to maintain interest throughout the nearly two-hour show by leading the group in a variety of songs that allowed every member of the jazz orchestra to solo. Many of the songs, such as the ballad "My Funny Valentine," are more traditionally performed with sung lyrics so the instrumental versions allowed for more improvisation and more swinging.
Highlights included the rollicking "Down By the Riverside" and "My Favorite Things," which stayed true to the more than 13-minute song by John Coltrane, without all of the filler and with more trumpet and some of the best solos of the show. These songs were the best because the audience knew them the best. After Marsalis announced a song the audience would murmur their approval as the band began to play.
Marsalis and the JLCO ended the show with an encore of "April in Paris" that received another standing ovation and sent the audience humming and whistling to themselves as they walked into the unseasonably warm weather.
