Grammy winner Wynton Marsalis on the Beauty of Jazz

[Nikhil]

Interview with Wynton Marsalis by 7.30’s Laura Tingle (Australia).
The interview was when he was about to start a tour of Australia with his Lincoln Centre Jazz Orchestra.

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[coaltrain]

Thanks for posting this, Nikhil. Guy is certainly an eloquent speaker.
However, I’ve always had an issue with his take on jazz being a sacred artifact that requires one to be ’educated’ before one can unravel its mysteries.
I found his comment on jazz being an ‘orphan’ particularity intriguing. Jazz was always the popular music of its time, until bebop in the 50s turned it into a cerebral art form and distanced casual listeners. It wasn’t until the late 60s that jazz made its way back into popular music by shaking hands with soul and rock music; a marriage that was anathema to the likes of Marsalis and Stanley Crouch.
Fortunately, I can still enjoy Wynton’s artistry without letting dogma get in the way

 

[himadri]

Thanks for posting this, Nikhil. Guy is certainly an eloquent speaker.
However, I’ve always had an issue with his take on jazz being a sacred artifact that requires one to be ’educated’ before one can unravel its mysteries.
I found his comment on jazz being an ‘orphan’ particularity intriguing. Jazz was always the popular music of its time, until bebop in the 50s turned it into a cerebral art form and distanced casual listeners. It wasn’t until the late 60s that jazz made its way back into popular music by shaking hands with soul and rock music; a marriage that was anathema to the likes of Marsalis and Stanley Crouch.
Fortunately, I can still enjoy Wynton’s artistry without letting dogma get in the way

Probably thats why Im more of a fan of Wynton's elder sibling Branford who has no qualms about breaking barriers here.

 

[Nikhil]

I found his comment on jazz being an ‘orphan’ particularity intriguing. Jazz was always the popular music of its time, until bebop in the 50s turned it into a cerebral art form and distanced casual listeners.

I think his comments have to be taken in context to where American music is today. Jazz was mainstream in the 60s but has steadily been replaced by other genres especially in the black communities from where it had it's core. Clearly youngsters today are more likely to pick up pop, hip hop or rap rather than jazz. There are exceptions no doubt but it's a niche area now.

Most American jazz is usually mixed with a heavy doses of blues, gospel or big band. Even here in India, I find many people confuse "brass music" with jazz. Many of our forum members have a preference for jazz fusion, which is an interesting sub genre, but is far removed from the straight up jazz of the 60s and early 70s. Even Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra are more New Orleans big band IMO.

But that's a good thing and if gives us more music to enjoy and appreciate.



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