January 30, 2003
EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN:
We received the following from Glenn Dryfoos, the Brothers Judd jazz correspondent, in response to the Wynton Marsalis article and comments below:
That Marsalis didn't like Miles' later work and publicly said so merely makes Wynton an honest guy. Most of what Davis played in the last years of his career was crap (with occasional exceptions, like his rendition of Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time").To say (as Jeff does in his comment) that no one named Marsalis has "demonstrated anything beyond mere virtuosity" is ridiculous. Wynton, Branford and their dad, Ellis, are all more than just virtuosos; they all play great and beautiful music...and in the case of Wynton and Branford, they've written some damn good tunes.
Now, as for Wynton's place in the pantheon (Armstrong, Parker, Gillespie, Monk, Coltrane, Taylor). He clearly isn't there. Those greats are held in the esteem that they are because of the new sounds and ideas they bought to the music. Wynton is, in essence, a neo-classicist...his works, while impressive, are mostly built on the sounds and concepts developed by others (to my ears, his biggest compositional influences are Ellington and Wayne Shorter). In my view, however, there's no shame in "merely" being a great player and composer, but not an innovator...if that were the case, guys like Clifford Brown and Stan Getz and even Sonny Rollins wouldn't be as revered as they are. (And, conversely, great innovators like Coleman Hawkins and Benny Carter would be even more revered than they are.)
On the other hand, Marsalis has done the world a great service by banging the drum and reminding us of how great Ellington and Armstrong and Monk were. If it weren't for his efforts, those guys would be a lot more overlooked than they are now...and people like Ken Burns wouldn't have been inspired to look back at the history of jazz. Marsalis doesn't pretend to be a revolutionary...he likes playing his interpretations of musical styles that came before him. I don't think that's a reason to criticize him; it's just a fact.
As for Jeff's "the new Stan Kenton, at best" comment...ouch. First of all, Marsalis is a far greater instrumentalist than Kenton, and that alone is a huge difference. Secondly, his compositions and arrangements are far more diverse and interesting (and swinging!).
So where does that leave us? With a guy who for 20 years has been the finest trumpet player in jazz. A guy who has pushed for people to learn more about the history of the music and who has put together a great jazz orchestra that explores this repertory. He has never criticized "new" music or music that doesn't hew to the orthodoxies he admires...he has only criticized men, like Davis and Herbie Hancock, who once made great music, and then cashed in at the altar of bad pop. (Wynton doesn't launch fusillades at Herbie all the time, only when he releases "music" like "Rockit".)
At bottom is this: I have heard Wynton play live maybe a dozen times. Putting aside labels and agendas, he is simply a thrilling trumpet player. His improvisations and compositions are filled with fire and tenderness, sophistication and honky tonk, seriousness and humor.
He may not be Armstrong, but I'm awfully glad he's around.
As for the Brothers, we just have a soft spot in our cold hearts for misanthropes of every stripe, but particularly for those who defend classicism and revile modernism.
Here are some Wynton Marsalis discs that Dryfoos particularly recommends:
Wynton Marsalis (his first LP as a leader)
Live at Blues Alley
Standard Time, vol 3 (with his Dad, Ellis)
Soundtrack to "Tune in Tomorrow"
Crescent City Christmas
Blood on the Fields
Haydn Trumpet Concerto
MORE:
-PROFILE: Born Out of Time: Wynton Marsalis and his contemporaries recapitulate modern jazz (Francis Davis, April 1988, The Atlantic Monthly
Pretty pathetic defense...and he's your jazz critic? Jeesh...no wonder the Judds taste in music is so bad. Marsalis is no Clifford Brown, heck he's never made as good an album EVER as say, Lee Morgan, much less Clifford Brown. Heck, some would say he's not even as good as Freddy Hubbard...he's just been far more political. Using the race card--have you ever heard him during the 80s? His racially divisive tactics that garnered him a record deal and tons of fearful approval from honkie? He became the parlor room tool offered as proof that the NYC limousine liberal set was hip to the brothers. Too bad Dave Douglas appears to be unknow to the brilliant jazz critic.
Posted by: John at January 30, 2003 10:13 PMI always preferred Branford to Wynton. He swings just as hard and is not the pedantic ideologue that his brother is.
As for classicism, the problem is that once the classicists predominate, the genre is no longer dynamic and becomes a museum piece.
The general problem with jazz is that it is a folk music that has become detached from its folk. Charlie Parker changed jazz from a dance music to an art music. In moving from the Apollo ballroom to 52nd street the music gained something, but it lost something too.
I won't respond to the attacks on my taste and credentials (I'm assuming John was being ironic when he called me "brilliant"), but to John and Jed's comments:
- Yes, I am familiar with Dave Douglas, and he's a terrific player...as is Tom Harrell, John Faddis, Byron Stipling and lots of other current trumpeters. I happen to think Wynton is at the top of that heap. John's free to disagree. (we probably also disagree on who our favorite tenor players, pianists and drummers are, but I'll bet that both of our choices are damn good musicians).
- Clifford Brown is my favorite all-time trumpet player. But because Wynton isn't Brownie, doesn't mean he sucks.
-I also am a fan of Branford's. And, he'd probably be a better guy than Wynton to sit down and have a beer with. He's also an example of a guy whose forays into the pop world have maintained credible artistry.