By Andrew Klein
The idea of revisiting and interpreting an
legendary album that helped define modern music is the dream of many, but one
that few actually attempt. This Sunday at 4 p.m.
at Hill Auditorium, renowned jazz trumpeter Wynton
Marsalis will appear with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. They will perform
a tribute to John Coltranes A Love Supreme, the
iconic 1964 masterpiece consisting of three tracks totaling 32 minutes and 59
seconds.
A recipient of several Grammys and
a Pulitzer Prize, Marsalis, co-founder and Music Director for the LCJO since
its creation in 1987, needs no proof of his legitimacy as a jazz musician.
Still, even for someone with as many credentials as he has, preparing A Love
Supreme is no small feat. Originally recorded with a quartet, Marsalis has
arranged the music to encompass the entirety of the 15-member LCJO.
Even with his numerous accolades, Marsalis is no stranger to
criticism. While there no doubt
that the nonprofit LCJO is one of the leading institutions of jazz music in America,
theres much discussion of what the LCJO does'nt play. His disapproval of post-1965
avant-garde jazz, as well as fusion from the 70s, is as well known as his
calm disinterest in his critics.
Politics aside, Marsalis is devoted to music on a broad
scale.
He appeared in New Orleans
this past Monday, giving a speech and performing for the students of Tulane
University, which resumed classes
Tuesday.
œHe has
devoted his whole life to jazz music, said Ali
Jackson, the ensembles drummer who is among its
newest members.
From meeting with committees to fundraising, Jackson
said Marsalis does the work of three or four people.â
He described Marsalis as a good
barometer for talent, and
perhaps that reflects on Jackson himself. Jackson, who began drumming at age
two, has performed with Aretha Franklin and sat in on two tours with Marsalis. Jackson
also toured Europe with his uncle, Oliver Jackson, when
he was 17.
When asked about his choice to perform A Love Supreme, Jackson
described the album as a unique documentation of a
certain time, a certain philosophy, not just Coltranes
philosophy, but also the musicians he was playing with
He went on to label the album as a very spiritual
piece of music.â
A cornerstone in the education of any jazz musicians life, Jackson
recognized the full importance of the album at age 14. He emphatically summed
up the albums concept as one of unconditional love.â
œIts
a connection of trying to find who you are, where God is
to walk a path of righteousness and containing all of the those qualities that
concern righteousness,â he said.
As one of the musicians performing such a piece, Jackson
described the feeling as being absorbed by the music.
On Marsalis as a band leader, Jackson
had only high praise, dismissing critics and emphatically throwing his support.
1/20/06
Source: The Michigan
Daily
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