In past concerts that have been described by the New York Times as being “soulful,” “evocative,” and “playing directly to the band’s strengths,” the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis performed original compositions inspired by masters of modern art including Romare Bearden, Stuart Davis, Sam Gilliam, Winslow Homer, Wifredo Lam, Norman Lewis and Piet Mondrian. On August 2, 2019,Blue Engine Records will release the studio recordings of these charts on a new album entitled Jazz and Art.
Jazz and Art will be released on all digital platforms on August 2nd, 2019. GRAMMY Award-winner and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra member Ted Nash says, “Music and paintings share so many characteristics; textures, colors, layers, line, form, shape. No wonder they are such agreeable collaborators. When these two art forms come together, they create a new medium.”
“In February 2010, the audience in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater got to experience that transcendent combination when seven imaginative composers presented new works accompanied by projections of the paintings that inspired their creations.”
Jazz and Art displays impressive musicianship and a range of musical styles, from modern jazz to gospel, American pastoral music, Afro-Cuban, spirituals, New Orleans, Indian chants, avant garde, and beyond. The compositions were inspired by works of art from beloved museums such as The Guggenheim, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art.
TRACK LISTING
1. Stuart Davis for the Masses: The Mellow Pad
For Stuart Davis
Written & Arranged by Doug Wamble
Solo: Vincent Gardner (trombone)
2. Stuart Davis for the Masses: Garage Lights
For Stuart Davis
Written & Arranged by Doug Wamble
Solo: Marcus Printup (trumpet), Sherman Irby (alto saxophone)
3. Stuart Davis for the Masses: New York
For Stuart Davis
Written & Arranged by Doug Wamble
Solo: Dan Nimmer (piano)
4. Blue Twirl
For Sam Gilliam
Written & Arranged by Vincent Gardner
Solo: Wynton Marsalis (trumpet), Ted Nash (alto saxophone), Elliot Mason (trombone)
5. Bearden (The Block)
For Romare Bearden
Written & Arranged by Chris Crenshaw
Solo: Dan Nimmer (piano), Victor Goines (tenor saxophone)
6. Air, Earth, Fire, Water (Orisha Medley)
For Wifredo Lam
Written & Arranged by Papo Vasquez
Solo: Papo Vazquez (trombone), Wynton Marsalis (trumpet)
7. Winslow Homer: Homer’s Waltz
For Winslow Homer
Written by Bill Frisell
Arranged by Andy Farber
Solo: Walter Blanding (tenor saxophone)
8. Winslow Homer: Homer’s Blues
For Winslow Homer
Written by Bill Frisell
Arranged by Andy Farber
Solo: Wynton Marsalis (trumpet), Walter Blanding (tenor saxophone), Dan Nimmer (piano)
9. The Repose in All Things
For Piet Mondrian
Written & Arranged by Tim Armacost
Solo: Sherman Irby (alto saxophone), Ryan Kisor (trumpet)
10. Twilight Sounds
For Norman Lewis
Written & Arranged by Sherman Irby
Solo: Victor Goines (bass clarinet), Wynton Marsalis (trumpet)
Personnel:
THE JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA WITH WYNTON MARSALIS
REEDS
Sherman Irby (alto saxophone, clarinet, and flute)
Ted Nash (alto saxophone, clarinet, and flute)
Victor Goines (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, and clarinet)
Walter Blanding (tenor saxophone)
Joe Temperley (baritone saxophone, bass clarinet)
TRUMPETS
Ryan Kisor
Marcus Printup
Kenny Rampton
Wynton Marsalis, trumpet and vocals
TROMBONES
Vincent Gardner
Chris Crenshaw
Elliot Mason
RHYTHM SECTION
Dan Nimmer, piano
Carlos Henriquez, bass
Ali Jackson, drums and tambourine
Special Guests:
Papo Vazquez, trombone
Iwao Sado, Batá drums
Xavier Rivera, Batá drums
Anthony Carrillo, Batá drums
About Blue Engine Records
Blue Engine Records, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s platform that makes its vast archive of recorded concerts available to jazz audiences everywhere, launched on June 30, 2015. Blue Engine Records releases new studio and live recordings as well as archival recordings from Jazz at Lincoln Center’s performance history that date back to 1987 and are part of the R. Theodore Ammon Archives and Music Library. Since the institution’s founding in 1987, each year’s programming is conceived and developed by Managing and Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis with a vision toward building a comprehensive library of iconic and wide-ranging compositions that, taken together, make up a canon of music. These archives include accurate, complete charts for the compositions – both old and new – performed each season. Coupled with consistently well-executed and recorded music performed by Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, this archive has grown to include thousands of songs from hundreds of concert dates. The launch of Blue Engine is aligned with Jazz at Lincoln Center’s efforts to cultivate existing jazz fans worldwide and turn new audiences on to jazz. For more information on Blue Engine Records, visit blueenginerecords.org.
