Wynton Marsalis - Standard Time, Vol. 6: Mr. Jelly Lord

Wynton Marsalis's century-closing series of jazz and classical recordings isn't nearly the pulse-quickening excursion one might expect, what with all the fanfare and all the years the vaunted trumpeter has spent in the limelight. That said, his nod to Jelly Roll Morton is probably one of the better Marsalis recordings available. It's got enough rules built in--compositional economy, instrumental variation, etc.--that it disciplines the trumpeter's more ambitious tendencies. In the liner notes, Marsalis describes Morton dually as a jazz intellectual and a streetwise hustler, and anyone familiar with Morton will know the characterization is apt. Marsalis's read of Morton, however, skips the street hustle and instead focuses on cleanly drawn portraits that amount to fine repertory pieces, works akin to chamber music in their ultimate impact. That's not so much of a putdown as it might seem, as African-American composers are so rarely treated the way European and Euro-American composers are. Morton knew this and wrote his way around it, much as Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus did. And Jelly Roll's stomping-good-time melodies are here to show his knowledge of both his audience and his compositional chops. But if you're expecting something innovative or hair-raising in the way of Marsalis rediscovering an untapped Jelly Roll vein, you'll be greeted instead with full-bore, horn-rich charts that swing strongly. And that ain't half bad. --Andrew Bartlett Amazon.com

Raucous celebration of joyful blues

Who knew the blues could make you so happy? This collection of great blues tunes will have you tapping your feet and smiling wide as the Mississippi. Winton Marsalis injects just enough of post-modern jazz licks to give this collection of old-time blues pieces an updated feel. The band has a great time, giving Tom cat Blues an old time radio sound palette, imitating traffic sounds on Sidewalk Blues and featuring an exchange of uproarious of laughter between a couple of muted trumpets in Jungle Blues.

Great listening, complex, traditional, modern, fun and often funny. June 25, 2008

Fabulous Reference level recording

I am an audio dealer, manufacturer, and enthusiast and a friend introduced this redbook CD to me. I ended up purchasing 6 or 7 more Wynton Marsalys' Standard Time, Vol. 6: Mr. Jelly Lord CDs. I kept one and sent the others to customers, friends, and industry insiders. The music is exciting and the recording quality is reference level. Depending on one's system, this CD can exhibit a very dynamic, exciting, and very real sense of liveliness. Several others have claimed to use it as one of their reference recordings to demonstrate their system's sonic presentation to customers and associates.

I've since purchased several more of the very talented Wynton Marsalis' CDs and have found nearly equal musical excitement and and engineering in these CDs as well.

One of my favorites and a must have.
January 12, 2007

Mr. Smushy Lord

Since the liner notes insist that all jazz is "modern", you'd think Marsalis & Co. would try to put some fresh spin on Jelly Roll's compositions, or at least capture the nuances of the original sides. But no, this is just corny Dixieland oom-pah mush, the stuff tourists hear at Disney World. To appreciate Mr. Morton you will do much better with his original recordings. As Linus screamed to Lucy: "Great art should not be smushed up!" May 17, 2006

UNDERATED IS THE APT WORD--CLASSIC IS ANOTHER

I am "knocked-out" and down....floored. This CD will be a classic among classics, and it ".....proves that all jazz is modern"---Stanley Crouch's linernotes February 13, 2005

Wynton At His Best

I purchased the minidisc version of this album, and I must say that it is simply astounding. I cannot get enough of this album. The performances are simply superb. If you are looking for an execellent traditional jazz album, to add to your collection, this one is highly recommended. June 20, 2004

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