Reader's Guide
As usual, civilian readers of DTM who might be overwhelmed by the amount of detailed jazz criticism I occasionally uncork are advised to come back in a few days. These long posts are really only for musicians, insiders, and the very patient.
Digressions and footnotes I just couldn't leave out are in small type and italics.
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I sat down with Wynton Marsalis in the last week of August and started work on this collection of posts in early September.
Contents include:
Interview with Wynton Marsalis (Part one): Detailed discussion with audio clips of Wynton’s latest major opus, Congo Square, a two-CD set combining the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and Odadaa! (the West African drum ensemble led by Yacub Addy).
Interview with Wynton Marsalis (Part two): A casual blindfold test of classic trumpet solos including Wynton’s decoding of improvising procedures on the legendary “Knozz-Moe-King” from Live at Blues Alley. This section also includes general thoughts on race and education from Wynton.
The “J" Word: An introduction to the following side posts.
2. Four Early Wynton Marsalis/Jeff Watts Records: Made over twenty years ago, they still sound fresh today.
3. Current Perceptions: A call for respect.
4. An Old Feud: The Marsalis juggernaut versus the AACM.
5. Reading the Black Jazz Writers: Murray, Crouch, Ellison, Baraka, Spellman, Lewis, etc.
I am naturally curious to see what the jazz blogosphere makes of all this; some of this material is undoubtedly controversial. Want to weigh in? In a week or so I will round-up and link to responses from other places. (Update: links here.)
