Word: jazze
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Marsalis, 34, comes from a musical family and a musical city. His father Ellis is a pianist and educator; his elder brother Branford is a saxophonist; and one of his younger brothers, Delfeayo, is a trombone player. In New Orleans, a city as overflowing with jazz players as a bubbling pot of gumbo, Wynton was an early standout, a musical prodigy. As a teenager he played with drummer Art Blakey. Before Marsalis turned 22, he recorded a classical album that won a Grammy...
...Master renewed my faith in jazz music," trumpeter Wynton Marsalis writes in his backstage-with-the-band chronicle, Sweet Swing Blues on the Road. "In 1984 half of my first band left to play rock music. I thought maybe no one with that real fire and talent in our generation wanted to play jazz--not enough external rewards for swinging. Then I called the J Master...When he plays, the entire history of jazz piano resonates. He is a true original, a real jazzman, not afraid to swing and play the blues with authority, intelligence, abandon and soul. Yes, with...
...five, when cataracts destroyed his vision, he began taking piano lessons at 12, learning how to read music through Braille. He was a quick study. When Roberts was 22, Marsalis asked him to join his band; and at 25 he won first prize in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. His subsequent career as a recording artist also met with early success--he is the first musician to have had his first three albums reach No. 1 on Billboard's traditional-jazz chart...
...releasing two albums at once? Roberts seems to be following in the footsteps of his friend and mentor, Marsalis, who released a jazz and a classical album at the same time in 1982. Marsalis went on to secure a reputation as a renaissance man who could handle material from many genres; Roberts' double-barreled release should win him similar accolades...
...Blue he takes on his biggest musical challenge by remaking material that is even more familiar and sacrosanct to many listeners. Says Roberts: "Rhapsody in Blue is a piece everyone knows, so the changes you hear, if done right, can give you some idea of the power of jazz music. I wanted to try and bring the piece up to date without sacrificing its basic nature and personality." Because Rhapsody in Blue is a classical piece written before Louis Armstrong taught the world to swing, Roberts modified his usual improvisational approach: "Jazz is based on the premise of using your...