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Marsalis Goes Back to BasicsThe Magic Hour. "Feeling of Jazz," "You and Me," "Free to Be," "Baby, I Love You," "Big Fat Hen," "Skippin'," "Sophie Rose-Rosalee," "The Magic Hour." Wynton Marsais Quartet, with Bobby McFerrin and Dianne Reeves, vocals. (Blue Note Records 91717) Whatever one thinks of Wynton Marsalis's tradition-minded jazz aesthetic—and virtually every jazz musician has some opinion—his advocacy for the art form helped to renew its cultural significance. Jazz at Lincoln Center, of which he is the artistic director, is opening its new $128 million Frederick P. Rose Hall this month in the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle. The Pulitzer Prize he received in 1997 for his oratorio Blood on the Fields, the first such prize awarded to a jazz artist, helped bring the genre into a prize category once wholly occupied by classical composers. Marsalis was also an influential force in creating the Juilliard Institute for Jazz Studies, a program founded three years ago in conjunction with Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Last year saw another milestone in Marsalis's career, when he signed with the venerable Blue Note label. This ended a two-decade affiliation with Columbia that produced 32 jazz albums and 11 classical albums. It also marked a move towards a lighter, back-to-basics approach. While his recent projects have been epic-scaled, large ensemble pieces (All Rise, Blood on the Fields), The Magic Hour—his label debut—is his first small combo project in five years. Indeed, listening to this disc, one recalls the terrain Marsalis explored as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, the hard-swinging ensemble he joined in the summer of 1980, after a year as an undergraduate trumpet student at Juilliard, where he now serves on the faculty and as a trustee.Just as Blakey often nurtured young lions in his all-star groups, Marsalis teams up here with three former protégés: pianist Eric Lewis, bassist Carlos Henriquez, and drummer Ali Jackson. Each has worked with Marsalis over the last several years and together they convey an easy rapport while turning in distinctive solos. Many of the tunes are playful and melodic, including the brisk "Free to Be," which features some freewheeling trumpet work from Marsalis and imaginative drumming from Jackson; "You and Me," which highlights Marsalis's rich and supple tone; and "Skippin'," whose catchy melody and jagged time signatures recall Thelonius Monk at his most playful. Guest vocalists Bobby McFerrin and Dianne Reeves bring a relaxed sophistication to Marsalis's modest but appealing originals. Only in the 13-minute title track does Marsalis hint at program music, a selection he describes as an ode to the hour before parents put their kids to bed. With an opening melody reminiscent of Flight of the Bumblebee, the miniature suite takes many unexpected turns, with jittery rhythms giving way to a mid-tempo groove, a Cuban clave, and finally, a bedtime story ballad. Naturally, this album hasn't put to rest the controversies about Marsalis's contribution to jazz. To his admirers, he has single-handedly rescued the art form from obscurity by reviving the styles of the 1940s, '50s and '60s. Some critics, however, have found his work too conservative and too quick to dismiss avant-garde and jazz-fusion musicians for turning their backs on blues and swing. The Magic Hour is neither ultra-conservative nor a radical departure; taken on its own terms it has a loose, dynamic quality that bodes well for his future outings on the label. Mention this column at the Juilliard Bookstore to receive a 5-percent discount on this month's featured recording. (In-store purchases only.)Brian Wise is a producer at WNYC radio and writes about music for The New York Times, Time Out New York, Opera News, and other publications.
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