The Bebop Shop Wynton, Branford & Jazz At Lincoln Center

The Bebop Shop : In The Tradition: Mainstream & The Bop Revivalists : Wynton, Branford & Jazz At Lincoln Center


	Wynton Marsalis (CD: Columbia) Marsalis's first album (1982) as trumpet leader, where he typically engages with the jazz tradition and past. Fronting a quintet comprising brother Branford (saxes), Herbie Hancock (piano), Ron Carter (bass) and Tony Williams (drums)---Miles Davis' '60s rhythm section---the trumpeter is on blistering form. Jazz experiments in melody, harmony and rhythm combine with Marsalis's recent baptism with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers to produce a vibrantly changing album. A showcase for emerging talents, perhaps less startlingly virtuosic than the later "Standard Time" (1986). (Andrew Clark, Editor, Riffs & Choruses: A New Jazz Anthology. Continuum Publishing.) Price: £9.99


Wynton Marsalis: The Majesty of the Blues (CD: Columbia- US Import) Trumpeter Marsalis may be a victim of his own ambition here. The album concept, a celebration of the jazz tradition in the form of the blues, is not fully realized in musical outcome. The title-track and "Hickory Dickory Dock" are successful enough, with Marsalis and sextet (including Todd Williams and Wes Anderson on saxes) playing a series of imaginative variations on the elements and essences of the blues. In the suite-like "New Orleans Function," however, Marsalis grafts four old-time N.O. musicians onto the sextet, with questionable results. An interesting, but ultimately flawed album, then, suggesting ambition sometimes outdoes execution. (Andrew Clark, Editor, Riffs & Choruses: A New Jazz Anthology. Continuum Publishing.) Price: £12.99


	Wynton Marsalis Septet: Blue Interlude (CD: Columbia- US Import) Price: £12.99


Wynton Marsalis: Standard Time, Vol.1 (CD: Columbia) Leading spokesperson for black-tradition conscious movement in jazz, trumpeter Marsalis's initial "Standard Time" album is a tour de force. A dynamic quartet recording (1986) of jazz standards, with pianist Marcus Roberts, bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Jeff Watts, Marsalis exhibits the kind of virtuoso skills for which he is famous: beautiful sound and tonal range, perfect control and ear, exciting variations in time and rhythm, and the fullest stylistic and conceptual grasp of whatever music he is playing---all here on the track "Foggy Day." Like trumpet mentors before him---back all the way to Louis Armstrong---Marsalis demonstrates the value and continuity of the jazz tradition. Splendid and beautifully played album. Basic recommendation. (Andrew Clark, Editor, Riffs & Choruses: A New Jazz Anthology. Continuum Publishing.) Price: £5.99


	Wynton Marsalis: Blood On The Fields (CD: Columbia, 3 CDs) Price: £25.99


Wynton Marsalis: Standard Time, Vol.4- Marsalis Plays Monk (CD: Columbia- US Import) Price: £12.99


	Wynton Marsalis: All Rise (CD: Sony- 2 CDs- US Import) Price: £19.99


Wynton Marsalis: The Magic Hour (CD: Blue Note) The Magic Hour finds Marsalis working in quartet form with pianist Eric Lewis, bassist Carlos Henriquez, and drummer Ali Jackson. Special guests and Blue Note label mates Dianne Reeves and Bobby McFerrin join in for vocal tracks "Feeling Of Jazz" and "Baby, I Love You." The Magic Hour includes Marsalis originals that range from playful, dance-like jaunts to a gear-switching suite that runs the jazz gamut from high-speed harmonic chases to soulful, trumpet-led romancing. (Blue Note Records) Price: £13.99


	Wynton Marsalis: From The Plantation To The Penitentiary (CD: Blue Note) Wynton Marsalis’ moving new album From the Plantation to the Penitentiary, offers a clear-eyed and uncompromising look at the cracks in America’s facade of prosperity and happiness. By turns soothing, urgent, playful, and angry, From the Plantation to the Penitentiary distills Marsalis’ recent observations on our modern American way of life as he’s traveled the nation as a performer, teacher, and private citizen. Through the sultry alto of 21-year old singer Jennifer Sanon, he gives voice to the “tattered ragmen” of America in “Find Me,” rebukes our misogynistic entertainment industry in “Love and Broken Hearts,” and denounces the uncontrolled financial exploitation of modern America in which “there’s never enough” in the frantic “Super Capitalism.” The most striking track on the album is “Where Y’all At?,” a rare spoken-word vocal performance by Marsalis, in which he demands to know what’s happened to all the responsible leaders in America. (Blue Note Records) Price: £13.99


Wynton Marsalis: He And She (CD: Blue Note) As the title to Wynton Marsalis's fifth Blue Note release indicates, He and She is about that eternally compelling and most elemental of subjects: the relationship between a man and a woman. The Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, trumpeter, and band leader, however, hasn't merely crafted a love story, but a life story - a bittersweet rumination about the evanescence of life as well as the elusiveness of romance. Time is very much at the heart of He and She: the swift passage of time over the course of one's life, the mood-altering shifts of time within the duration of a song. It's an ambitious effort, combining spoken word and music, and Marsalis has given his quintet some formidable charts. The album is tempered with flashes of humor and plenty of swing. There's ease and elegance and more than a little wisdom in these grooves. (Blue Note Records) Price: £13.99


	Wynton Marsalis Quintet & Richard Galliano: From Billie Holiday To Edith Piaf- Live in Marciac (CD & DVD: Futur Acoustic) A superb release, surprisingly on a small French indie label, for arguably the biggest name in contemporary jazz. Wynton Marsalis’s discography on the likes of Sony and Blue Note is extensive, but this live album is doubly appealing for the presence of Gallic accordion maestro Richard Galliano. (Harmonia Mundi) Price: £14.99


Wynton Marsalis & Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra: Vitoria Suite (CD: EmArcy, 2 CDs) Wynton Marsalis, one of the most respected living jazz musicians, returns with a new large scale work, recorded with his longtime collaborators Jazz At Lincoln Center, with a guest appearance from flamenco legend Paco De Lucia. Inspired by travels in Spain, and recorded in Vitoria, Vitoria Suite is a 12-part work, the structure inspired by the 12 measures of the blues. Marsalis uses the impulse of the blues as a foundation to jointly explore the music of two worlds and two cultures: the jazz and blues of North America and the indigenous Basque music and Flamenco of Spain. Price: £16.99


	Branford Marsalis: Requiem (CD: Columbia- US Import) Price: £12.99


Branford Marsalis Quartet: Braggtown (CD: Marsalis Music) Price: £13.99


	Branford Marsalis Quartet: Metamorphosen (CD: Marsalis Music) Price: £13.99


Branford Marsalis & Joey Calderazzo: Songs Of Mirth And Melancholy (CD: Marsalis Music) Price: £13.99


	Branford Marsalis Quartet with Kurt Elling: Upward Spiral (CD: Okeh) Price: £13.99

The Bebop Shop : In The Tradition: Mainstream & The Bop Revivalists : Wynton, Branford & Jazz At Lincoln Center

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