On February 2 at 12 Noon EST NPR Tiny Desk Celebrates Black History Month series kicks off with the YouTube premiere of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Septet with Wynton Marsalis’ live performance of movements from The Democracy! Suite. The live performance was filmed for NPR Tiny Desk at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club.
 
Wynton Marsalis’ The Democracy! Suite is the follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer’s provocative work, The Ever Fonky Lowdown, which was released in 2020. Featuring a hand-picked lineup consisting of members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, The Democracy! Suite is available globally as a digital album on Blue Engine Records.
 
Composed by Marsalis during the ongoing Covid-19 crisis as a response to the political, social, and economic struggles facing our nation, The Democracy! Suite is a swinging and stimulating instrumental rumination on both the issues that have recently dominated our lives, as well as the beauty that could emerge from a collective effort to create a better future.
 
The Democracy Suite! selects performed:

1. Sloganize, Patronize, Realize, Revolutionize (Black Lives Matters)

Solos: Walter Blanding (tenor saxophone), Carlos Henriquez (bass), Obed Calvaire (drums), Ted Nash (alto saxophone), Wynton Marsalis (trumpet), Elliot Mason (trombone)

2. Deeper than Dreams

Solos: Wynton Marsalis (trumpet), Ted Nash (alto saxophone), Walter Blanding (tenor saxophone), Elliot Mason (trombone), Dan Nimmer (piano)

3. That Dance We Do (That You Love Too)

Solos: Walter Blanding (soprano saxophone), Elliot Mason (trombone), Ted Nash (alto saxophone), Dan Nimmer (piano), Carlos Henriquez (bass), Obed Calvaire (drums), Wynton Marsalis (trumpet)
 

PERSONNEL:
THE JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA SEPTET WITH WYNTON MARSALIS
Wynton Marsalis - trumpet
Ted Nash - alto saxophone
Walter Blanding - tenor saxophone
Elliot Mason - trombone
Dan Nimmer - piano
Carlos Henriquez - bass
Obed Calvaire - drums
 
Filmed at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club