Thursday, October 18, 2007

Happy birthday, Wynton Marsalis.

Mr. Marsalis is 46 years old today. In his honor, I’m streaming a track from his latest album, “From the Plantation to the Penitentiary.” It’s downloadable from iTunes and Amazon.com.

Click here to listen to “Where Y’All At?,” his spoken-word cri de coeur about the state of all things.

Not saying Wynton could cut it as a Last Poet – not when he reaches for a word like “blunderbuss” to make a rhyme work – but at least he spreads the blame around.

Long may you blow your horn, brah.

(The photo above is by Jonathan Feinstein, and is used here under a Creative Commons Attribution 1.0 license.)

6 comments:

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  2. I saw Wynton live back in his first heyday -- at Wolf Trap which you know well I'm sure. Tremendous band and great energy and he played some challenging stuff, not I think what the audience was expecting.

    Happy Birthday to a real player.

    (Sorry to have to repost -- I had a major spelling error. Doh!)

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  3. ^ The "Young Lion" phase... I bet he was hot indeed, S.O.L.

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  4. I'm not a fan of Wynton's. Years ago, maybe 25, I read an article in which he dissed Prince. Being a diehard Prince fan I took it personal. :-) I remember writing a response, but I can't remember if I mailed it. I only remember that it appeared in a Brooklyn newspaper.

    I searched the net a little looking for it. But couldn't find it. Instead I found one about how much he hates hip-hop. (He sounds like a Be-Bop Bill Cosby.) It also mentions how he "denounce[d] his fellow musicians who have moved into funk, fusion and the avant garde."

    Prickly, pop music snob.

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  5. He must've had some hellacious arguments with Branford, Jena6... because Branford's "Buckshot LaFonque" projects came with the real hip-hoppity funk.

    And I'm sure Prince doesn't give a shit what Wynton thinks about him... not after Prince done jammed with Miles.

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  6. I wonder what Kenny Burns got him for his birthday this year?

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