NEW YORK—“Spectacular!” local New Yorker Jay Lewis, 69, exclaimed during the intermission when asked about the show. “He is a great musician and great communicator, carrying on the legacy and the joy of music.”
The person he is talking about is internationally renowned jazz musician Wynton Marsalis. The trumpeter and composer is celebrating his 50th birthday by playing a series of concerts at Lincoln Center from Oct. 12 to 15. Instead of being on the receiving end of birthday gifts, Marsalis decided to give his fans a gift of their own with these shows.
If Marsalis’s name sounds familiar, it is because it’s one of the biggest names in jazz, and rightly so. Just like his hometown of New Orleans, Marsalis’s connection to music goes way back. He is the son of renowned jazz pianist Ellis and brother of famous saxophonist Branford. By the young age of 8, Wynton started performing in church. At 14, he found himself playing with the New Orleans Philharmonic.
And it didn’t stop there. In these 50 years, Marsalis has accomplished a lot. Not only is he now the owner of nine Grammys, but he is also the only jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. He not only skillfully plays the trumpet and composes. He has also written five books on the topic of jazz, organized and taken part in fundraisers for many different organizations such as Amnesty International, and is a music teacher.
Marsalis has helped expand the idea of jazz while at the same time keeping it firmly tied to its roots. No matter how many elements he brings into the picture (such as an interesting collaboration with Willie Nelson), he still manages to mold them into the very same genre: jazz. He performs and composes throughout the entire spectrum of his genre and still keeps the same pure, solid musical foundation that is the fruit of many years of knowledge and practice.
On Wednesday, Oct. 12, locals and tourists alike flocked to Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall to see the premiere concert of the four-night run. The musicians on stage had the pleasure of looking out over a sea of visitors, coming there to celebrate one of the greatest in jazz.
One of the visitors in particular had waited a long time to hear Marsalis play. Patricia Murphy, 85, a patron at Lincoln Center, saw the musician live for the first time in New Orleans in 1985.
Of course, this is not the first time Marsalis is playing at Lincoln Center. He co-founded a jazz program there in the 1980s, a program that would later become known widely as Jazz at Lincoln Center.
He is also the founder and director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the band that he is sharing his stage with during the current event. However, Marsalis did not try to get all the attention.
Instead of playing with the orchestra as a backdrop, Marsalis himself was very much a part of the orchestra—sometimes playing with the other trumpets, sometimes having solos, and sometimes letting the other musicians play solo. The entire concert felt like a team effort as opposed to a solo performance.
“I thought it was great!” said Art Thompson from Manhattan about the show. “It was exceptional, very well-orchestrated. He [Marsalis] is a very special person.”
Marsalis also brought numerous guest musicians on stage to mark the milestone. One of them was violinist Mark O’Connor, one of the crowd’s favorites. The Grammy-winning musician was playing swift and energetic melodies to American South-flavored tunes from the orchestra, and he and his violin received much applause from the impressed crowd.
There were also interesting additions, such as Ghanaian drumming group Odadaa! and tap dancer Jared Grimes, both of which were a little unexpected at a jazz concert but complemented the feeling of the night nicely. Grimes proved to be yet another crowd favorite, assisting the band in keeping the beat, and was brought out on stage repeatedly.
After two sets filled with jazzy trumpets, saxophones and trombones, energetic drums, and beautiful piano playing, the first of four shows concluded.
“This was a big thrill!” Murphy said after the show, having finally re-experienced the live music of Marsalis. “It was more than I ever anticipated!”
Wynton Marsalis will play nightly shows at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall at 8 p.m. through Saturday, Oct. 15. For more information, please visit: jalc.org
