 "Photo: Erin Mizla")
Webster's Dictionary defines jazz as "American music developed especially from ragtime and blues and characterized by propulsive syncopated rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, varying degrees of improvisation and often deliberate distortions of pitch and timbre." This definition came to life when Wynton Marsalis and his ensemble took the stage at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts for two performances Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.
Marsalis, a renowned jazz and classical trumpeter, was greeted with uproarious applause from the audience as he and his band members walked onto the purple-lit Jorgensen stage. Perhaps the audience was recognizing Marsalis as the first jazz musician ever to receive the Pulitzer Prize for music. Or maybe they were applauding because he has nine Grammy Awards for both jazz and classical music. Whatever the reason, it could not be denied that the audience was in the presence of one of the greatest jazz musicians of our time.
Despite all of his accomplishments, Marsalis gently nodded to the audience and began to introduce the members of his band: Walter Blanding Jr. (tenor saxophone), Ali Jackson (drums), Dan Nimmer (piano) and Carlos Henriquez (bass). With this, a night of magical jazz music was underway.
The first selection was entitled "What Is This Thing Called Love." Marsalis took the spotlight, and as his band accompanied him, he belted out hundreds of notes a minute. The audience sat awe-inspired as they watched his dexterous fingers hit each valve of his trumpet. The spotlight was then passed to Blanding on the tenor saxophone, who serenaded the audience with a gentle solo. Next came Nimmer on the piano. His fingers danced up and down the black and white piano keys as his melodies filled the air. Henriquez, on bass, and Jackson, also performed solos of their own.
"As long as there is democracy, there will be people wanting to play jazz because nothing else will ever so perfectly capture the democratic process in sound," Marsalis said, according to photomatt.net.
Marsalis's idea that jazz is democracy became evident throughout the night, as most of the songs allowed each member of the band to display his talent and express his take on the song.
LeeAnne Kane, a 5th-semester Native American studies major, was awed by how well the band was able to express themselves individually, yet still sound like one unit when they came together. It was her first time seeing Marsalis in concert.
"I didn't really know what to expect," Kane said. "It was really amazing." For Kane, one of the favorites of the night was a song entitled "Chirpin" about the Revolutionary War. Marsalis and the other band members whistled and stomped their feet, mimicking a troop heading into battle and used their instruments to capture the sound of the fife and drum. "In the Revolutionary War they were groovin' like that. It just hadn't fermented yet," Marsalis said after the song.
Angelo LaBella, a 9th-semester math and statistics major was also amazed by the performance. He first saw Marsalis play at his high school during a workshop. "Wynton Marsalis is highly trained in classical and jazz music," Labella said. "He's one of the most impressive musicians I've ever seen."
The final selection of the night was "Better Go," a blues piece. Marsalis likened the blues to the American Constitution.
"If you're playing music and it has anything to do with America, you have to keep the blues in mind," he said.
Other songs included in the performance were "Blue n' Boogie," "You're Blasé," "Just Friends, Lovers No More," "After You've Gone" and "I Guess I'm Just a Lucky So and So" and "Azalea," which both featured vocalist Jennifer Sanon.
At the end of the performance, Marsalis and his band received a standing ovation from the audience. Marsalis gave an encore performance to satiate audience members' need for one final glimpse of this truly inspiring musician.
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