An oddly culturally-isolated piece from Patrick Jarenwattananon at A Blog Supreme on Wynton's Vanguard recordings. That PJ can make the assertion that Marsalis is only controversial because he's been so "effective," end of story, is a gross oversimplification. Effective at making jazz business? That's not meant to be a pejorative question - like any art form, jazz needs to have good and effective PR and good and effective business deals. But Marslis proved remarkable effective at helping the business and PR of musicians who sound exactly like him, often prematurely. Was he effective at helping, even by association, the avant-arde musicians who had been struggling for years before the Marsalises hit the scene in the 1980s? Most of them would say not. I say not. For Patrick say that:
the thrust of what he's created business-wise, and the narrative around it, has deeply impacted the way jazz is presented and generally thought of in this country
with no discussion about whether he's talking about positive or negative impact is puzzling. I know, NPR and so on, but come on. This is basic stuff.
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I happen to love the Marsalis Vanguard recordings, and even wrote an article about them at my old blog. But the truth is that Marsalis isn't much of a musician, meaning that while he possesses amazing talents, he isn't, and was never, involved in the jazz scene.
Patrick asks,
How has Wynton been influential as an artist? Do the kids these days take after Wynton? Do they transcribe his solos, play his compositions, buy each of his records? Do they take note of his stage presence? Do they aspire to be in his small group or in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra which he directs?
I don't think they do. If the youth of today don't want to be rap or rock stars, chances are they want to be Esperanza, or Robert Glasper, or Aaron Parks. Wynton is a 50-year-old man in a business suit who hands out trumpets. His educational efforts are commendable and valuable, but that's all he is, and the JALO as well - a huge educational machine. I don't think many kids are charged up by albums with Willie Nelson, to be honest (which also doesn't jibe with Wynton's past statements, something any curious kid could easily discover).
And I hesitate to put myself in strange shoes, but if I was a junior-high or high school girl looking to start playing jazz, I'd be paying a lot more attention to Esperanza than Wynton, whose collaborations with women - either as co-stars or as band members - has been very small indeed.
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Wynton has made many great albums, with many great bands. It's a terrible idea to write Wynton off as a failure, or a blowhard, although he has failed in many regards, and blows hard when he wants to. But those albums are part of jazz's past, not its present. Just as Sonny Rollins is important to jazz while also being part of its history, Marsalis represents a certain period of time that is gone. Sonny's music is great now, but he isn't blazing any trails. He's producing top-notch music, but it isn't contemporary jazz. Same for Wynton. He blazed his trails in the 1980s and 1990s. He's still walking those trails today - don't group him with the guys at the front of the pack.
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