Another Evening with Wynton

I had the good fortune to spend another evening with Wynton Marsalis this week. Tonight at the Wharton Center it was Wynton Marsalis with MSU Symphony Orchestra and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. As the local paper said, it was a night of unforgettable music as more than 125 musicians took the stage for a unique pairing of classical compositions and jazzy renditions. The evening featured a world premiere of a new piece celebrating Michigan, composed by Wynton Marsalis and performed by both orchestras. The title is "Two in 3".

"Two in 3" is a 16-minute waltz cast roughly as a concerto grosso -- an 18th-Century form in which a smaller group of instruments (in this case a jazz band) functions within a larger orchestra. The two ensembles (or families of instruments within them) bounce off each other. Jazz band sections leave open space for improvised solos. Marsalis says he has tried to emphasize lyricism over virtuosity. The title refers to lovers and the three-beat waltz meter. "The premise is that everything is in that first glance that you have with a person who you will be in love with," says Marsalis. The commission grew out of Marsalis' long ties with the Detroit-born bassist Rodney Whitaker, who worked with the Lincoln Center band for years and now directs jazz studies at MSU. "Two in 3" is the successor to the trumpeter's classically oriented works written in the '90s, including the string quartet "At the Octoroon Balls," the Stravinsky-inspired "A Fiddler's Tale," the orchestral ballet "Them Twos" and the monumental "All Rise." These pieces bring together a gumbo of idioms, including conservative classical modernism, country fiddling, gospel, Ellingtonia, New Orleans shouts and dirges and an omnipresent blues tonality. Some are marred by a long-winded pedanticism, but the best music, especially large chunks of "All Rise," sings in a natural vernacular. You can hear Marsalis gradually lassoing command of his materials, especially in the lower end of the ensemble. Lewis used to harp about the staid motion of Marsalis' bass lines. "That's an example of a problem," says Marsalis, who was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1997 for his jazz oratorio "Blood on the Fields." "When the bass moves around a lot, generally music is going to groove less. If you want the music to groove, the bass has got to be rooted. So, can you get the bass to move but also groove. ... "I didn't study composition in school or orchestration or arranging. I learned it as I went along. As much as I advocate education, I've had very little of it in these arenas. I go purely off of my hearing."

It was a wonderful evening and I know that Ruth, Alana, Cheryl and I really enjoyed it.
The hall was packed and there were several standing ovations at the end. Sadly, East Lansing and Lansing will have to say goodbye to Wynton. As the City Pulse said, it was Wall-to-Wall Wynton this week.

I finished the binding on "Habitat Homes" a small wall hanging which will be won as a door prize by some lucky and generous person who will be attending the Harvest for Habitat dinner on Sunday. Some good news: Thanks to my friend Chris at work, there will be six at my table. Next year I hope to fill the whole table.

Habitat Homes

Up close.
Again.

NOTE: From October 6 - 13, 2008 WKAR Radio will be having its fundraising week. This year WKAR is partnering with Habitat for Humanity Lansing so that for every dollar raised by WKAR during the on air fundraising, a local lumber yard will donate one nail to Habitat for Humanity Lansing. The goal for WKAR Radio is $150,000 and if Habitat gets 150,000 nails, there will be enough nails to build 3 or 4 homes. If you donate to WKAR Radio, please consider making your donation during the on air event October 6-13, 2008.