Jazz at Lincoln Center back from S. Africa
West, Dizzy (Gillespie) from the South, Duke Ellington from the Eastern seaboard and Louis Armstrong, of course, from the Deep South,” adds Marsalis. “It was the important work of cultural ambassadorship, so we just play songs from their canon.”
But why did jazz take on that signifying role around the globe?
“Because it’s the definitive fine art of the country,” says Marsalis. “That means that, for some reason, it was able to encapsulate our fundamentals into its fundamentals.”
Meaning that jazz intrinsically reflected this country’s founding values — specifically democracy and individual freedom. Unlike classical music, in which musicians mostly are bound to play what’s in the score, jazz since its inception more than a century ago encouraged individuals to invent deeply personalized music on the spot, albeit within the context of a given composition.
In jazz, “individuality comes with improvisation,” says Marsalis. “But there’s also the freedom that comes with swing. So the bass part is not a slave part — it’s not just the same thing repeated over and over again. The bass part moves around, and it is forced to balance with the cymbal, which is the highest pitch. So the highest is forced to play on every beat with the lowest pitch. … It requires interaction. … We have to work with each other in a common space.”
Which surely defines democracy when it’s working as intended.
“And then the blues aesthetic gives us the type of optimism that survives, that’s deeper than hope,” adds Marsalis. “So no matter how bad things get, there’s still a thing inside of us that says, ‘Well, we have a belief that when we strip everything away, that belief will allow us to transcend the moment we’re in.’ ”
The African American culture that invented jazz — through the groundbreaking work of innovators such as pianist-composer Jelly Roll Morton and trumpeters such as Armstrong and Buddy Bolden and — clearly was transcending a bleak chapter in American life: slavery.
Jazz at Lincoln Center’s second Chicago concert, on Nov. 16, will explore the “South African Songbook,” with guest vocalists Melanie Scholtz and Vuyo Sotashe. The program holds particular significance for the ensemble, which last month completed its first tour South African tour.
“It was great — a lot more people knew the music of the cats in the band than we thought,” says Marsalis of a visit that was billed as honoring “the 25th anniversary of South African democracy.”
“The people were very (socially) conscious because of their struggles … and also very playful,” says Marsalis. “Even though they have the same urban problems everybody has, they didn’t have the same type of hostility we have toward each other, and it was palpable. You could feel it even when you got into the airport.”
Marsalis and colleagues also were struck by the level of virtuosity and jazz erudition among their South African counterparts, citing above all pianist Nduduzo Makhathini, who, as it happens, will release his Blue Note Records debut next year.
“Man, this guy can play,” says Marsalis, who also was impressed by the work of composer Thandi Ntuli and saxophonist McCoy Mrubata.
Above all, though, it was “the spirit of the people” that left the deepest impression.
“Everybody in the band was saying, ‘Damn — the spirit!’ ” Marsalis says. “It was a spiritual thing. It’s interesting how their jazz is connected to the freedom aspect of our jazz.”
Looking ahead, Marsalis sees Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Blue Engine Records label as critically important to the organization, with plans to “put out 100 records in five years,” he says.
To date its discography includes “Big Band Holidays II,” “Jazz and Art,” “Wynton Marsalis’ Swing Symphony” (with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra), “Bolden: The Original Soundtrack to the Major Motion Picture,” “Betty Carter: The Music Never Stops,” “Una Noche Con Ruben Blades,” “Handful of Keys: The Music of John Lewis,” “The Abyssinian Mass,” “Live in Cuba” and “Carlos Henriquez: The Bronx Pyramid.”
Upcoming recordings will feature compositions by JLCO members Victor Goines, Ted Nash, Sherman Irby and others.
“This is going to be the highlight of everything I ever tried to do,” says Marsalis.
Quite a statement from the man who co-founded Jazz at Lincoln Center and penned the first jazz composition to win a Pulitzer Prize, “Blood on the Fields.” Did Jazz at Lincoln Center create Blue Engine Records in order to break free of record industry control?
“No, not really,” says Marsalis. “It’s our in-house label. It’s not like we are a (free-standing) record label — we’re still what we are.
“It’s just that we’re interested in these resources being put to people. … We want people to hear the music because we’re advocates.
“At the end of the day, we are a social-help organization.”
But in this case, the help comes in a form that makes you want to tap your foot.
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis performs “Jazz Ambassadors” at 8 p.m. Nov. 15 and “South African Songbook” at 8 p.m. Nov. 16 in Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; ticket prices vary; 312-294-3000 or www.cso .org.