Days of Music With Marsalis

Music is something which always lightens the hearts. For the past three nights, U.S. jazzman and a man who has served as a United Nations goodwill ambassador, Wynton Marsalis allowed his band and the guests to shine in performances from the Pakistani sitar jazz to the reflections on the 50’s and he 60’s music of the Blue Note jazz record label. Marsalis entertained an already excited crowd with scales of the trumpet.
Wednesday’s Blue Note was a tribute of tracks by Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson and Woody Shaw involving arrangements by nine different members of the band, solos from all, and Marsalis himself who at times only played the fourth trumpet. There were also guest performances by young jazz musicians, introduced by Marsalis so that their talent maybe highlighted and they will be able to develop their skills. It is only at times that Marsalis takes classes where he tries to teach his students “mythology so (that) they can recalibrate how they look at the world.”
The British jazz newcomers that were present were vibraphonist Lewis Wright and saxophonist Nathaniel Facey. Another day’s performance featured the British-based Young Jazz East Big Band. Then on another day, there was a joint concert between two established bands – Marsalis’s and Pakistan’s Sachal Jazz Ensemble. The East meets West involved trombones, saxophones, sitars and tabla, naal and dholak drums.
Such ranges in performance style is a trademark of Marsalis, who as well as his father, Ellis, counts three jazzmen among his brothers, Branford, Delfeayo and Jason. Marsalis has worked with Sarah Vaughn, Dizzy Gillespie and Eric Clapton, and has won a Pulitzer Prize for music and numerous Grammys for jazz and classical albums, including one for best spoken word album for children. With his music Marsalis always aims to “have some type of rooting and a meaning.”