Wynton`s "Ever Fonky Lowdown"

During the school summer holidays you get plenty of time to spend checking out music or other things that you normally wouldn't have time for when you're in the throws of an intense teaching year and this summer I have quite by accident been spending time delving into the vast amount of music that Wynton Marsalis has produced, culminating in an absolutely fantastic work that he has only just completed. 

My journey with Mr Marsalis goes all the way back to 1981 when I was 19. I was asked to go on a trip with the Doncaster Youth Jazz Orchestra to the Nice Jazz festival. It was a monumental moment in my musical life. Whilst I was there I got to play in the jazz orchestra, which was fantastic, and I got to hear all my favourite trumpet players including Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Shaw, Art Farmer, Red Rodney, Benny Bailey, Snooky Young, Harry Edison, that's just off the top of my head. I also got to see Stan Getz on 11 separate occasions which was just amazing. Having got the programme before I went, I was most looking forward to seeing Freddie Hubbard with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. Freddie Hubbard was and is my favourite musician. 

We were at the festival for about 8 days and Freddie Hubbard wasn't due to play until the 3rd day of the festival so in the mean time I feasted on Chick Corea with Joe Henderson, the Art Pepper quartet with Shelly Manne, Dexter Gordon quartet and many others. 

I had taken my VSOP albums to get signed by the band and was beyond excited to see the band and then I went down to the Mercure Hotel to get the days listings for what was on that evening and there was VSOP with no Freddie Hubbard, instead it had Wynton Marsalis on trumpet, I had never heard of him and neither had anyone else who was with me. Of course I went down to see the band and from the first notes of the band I was stunned. The band launched straight into Eye Of The Hurricane, no count off, just immediate intensity. That was followed by Ron Carter's A Quick Sketch and then Well You Needn't. All incredible. 

I managed to see the band three nights in a row and because I had a musicians pass, I managed to get right to the front of the stage every night. It was and still is an indelible musical experience. On the second night I managed to get backstage and get my albums signed by everyone, the problem was Freddie Hubbard was on the album and there was no appropriate place for Wynton to sign it. I spoke to him about this and he took great relish in signing it all over Freddie Hubbard's face, in a nice way. 

I asked him if he had any albums out and he said he hadn't but he had recorded a couple of records coming up with Art Blakey and he was recording with Herbie Hancock when they got to Japan. 

When I got back home after a couple of months I got the Art Blakey albums "Album of the year", "Straight Ahead" and about a year later a double album from the Herbie Hancock Quartet. All great albums, suddenly everyone had heard of Wynton Marsalis. 

Over the next couple of years he released his self titled debut album and then "Think of one" followed by "Black Codes from the underground". Popular opinion has it that this was his best album and it is a great album. After that we had "J Mood" which was great and then he seemed to change gear on "The Majesty Of The Blues" which wasn't my favourite. There were many other albums at this time which are to numerous to mention but after "Majesty" I didn't really follow him so avidly. 

In between all that Mr Marsalis got into a little verbal spat with Miles Davis which I personally found a little bizarre. Wynton's music at that time seemed to be much in debt to the great Miles Davis quintet of the sixties and although I'm not sure of the details it all seems like a youthful tantrum from Mr Marsalis who these days seems so wise and respectful of so many different types of musicians from around the world. It was all a bit confusing at the time because although Miles was no longer playing out and out jazz, he was still adding his voice to music and I always loved everything he did from playing with Charlie Parker right up until the end. Wynton has recently payed tribute to Miles' music with the Lincoln Centre Jazz Orchestra so it all seems to have gone full circle. 

I'm a bit of a completist but it is very difficult to keep up with all his output and the breadth and variety of the content. 

Most recently I have been checking out "Blood on the fields" and "All Rise". Blood is a massive work and quite a tough listen but i've had it on constantly in the car and I'm beginning to really enjoy it. When I first came across Bitches Brew when I was fourteen years old, I really disliked it but after intense listening to it over a few weeks, I knew every note and loved it. It may sound bizarre to compare but I have gone through a similar process with Blood on the fields. So much music, so much information, but well worth immersing yourself in it. 

Which leads me to my most recent find on YouTube. A couple of months ago Wynton performed a brand new work with the Lincoln Centre Jazz Orch called "The Ever Fonky Lowdown". It's the best thing I've heard from him recently. A brilliant, humorous and political story of the modern corporate world we live in. I've watched it about three times and there is some fantastic topical comment in it. I highly recommend it if you have two hours to spare. The music is quite unexpected from my perspective, it is the perfect setting for Marsalis' libretto. 

Another thing I saw recently was a BBC4 documentary on Wynton 's violin concerto for Nicola Bernadetti. This is a really interesting programme and it's great to see the process of the composition, rehearsal and performance. 

So, as you can tell, I'm quite a follower of Mr Marsalis and the many twists and turns of his musical career. He has gone from being a "young lion" to a major composer and virtuoso on the trumpet. He has become a great ambassador of the music imparting great advice to young players. His q&a's at the Essentially Ellington festivals are inspirational, funny and full of humility. 

There is a lot to observe and learn from Mr Marsalis and long may he continue to pass on the message. 

Freddie Hubbard is still my favourite musician but Wynton Marsalis is to be applauded for such a sustained, creative and varied career in music. His compositions go well beyond a jazz label and so it is a stretch to compare their comparative output. I look forward to hearing more music from him, he has set the bar so high in so many ways. 

Here is a link for The Ever Fonky Lowdown

. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.