Wynton Marsalis Quintet

Marsalis fills Troy Music Hall with saucy jazz

BY DAVE SINGER For The Daily Gazette

TROY — Few people can lead an entire genre into a new era while still steeped in its tradition. Wynton Marsalis continues to press jazz — specifically New Orleans swing (think Louis Armstrong) — into new, and even thrilling, music. 

   Wednesday night he played his favorite Capital Region jazz joint, the Troy Music Hall, where he blew his horn for a jam-packed house.

   "We love playing this house so much," Marsalis said halfway through the first set, adding that he missed "the fireman." 

   The first song set the tone for the night. The quintet opened with a whirlwind tune, trumpet and tenor sax swirling at high speeds, Marsalis in the upper scales screeching spacey notes for a solo, not even bothering to play the melody before his wild solo, then cutting off abruptly to step aside and let his band do their thing for a bit. Drummer Ali Jackson dueled with Marsalis on only a high-hat, emulating one of his teachers, Max Roach, to bring the song to its close.

   They followed with a short ballad, and then played "Free to Be Whatever You Want to Be," a bop tinged with Marsalis’ southern sauce. Pianist Dan Nimmer played a masterful solo here, finely filling the shoes of Marsalis’ former pianist Eric Lewis, who has struck out on his own after years with the group. Nimmer pulled countless ideas out of the air, connected by a theme we all could feel but only he could articulate.
   After playing a short, beautiful piece by Ornette Coleman called "Sadness," Marsalis delivered a soulful sermon about classic artists, calling Bach, Shakespeare and Armstrong all avant garde. "Louis Armstrong is still avant garde. Nobody can play like him."
   For the second set, a 20-year-old Jennifer Sanon stiffly sang a bluesy "I Guess I’m Just a Lucky So-and-So." Sax man Walter Blanding played a short, sweet solo, and Marsalis pulled out his mute for the first time of the night.
   Sanon loosened up for "All of Me," scattin’ and ad-libbing a bit, but not opening her throat completely. For her third and final tune, "Azelea," she relaxed to give us a little bit more of the talent Marsalis sees in her, though not quite enough. Following this, Yacub Addi came out to play three congas with the band for the song "Number 8."
   Guests are always fun, but the band was best when they played inside themselves, without the distraction of a visitor.
   While The Hall is well known for its impeccable acoustics, many groups have misused it in the past, wasting its qualities. Marsalis and his top musicians played to it just right, lowering down to a whisper and rising to a full but controlled volume together. Nothing was lost in that room Wednesday night.
   At 44, Marsalis is a tireless innovator and advocate. He has won a Pulitzer for a performance about slavery, and nine Grammys for both classical and jazz recordings. It would take several days to hear the full range of Marsalis’ talents. At least at the Hall Wednesday night, we heard his jazz.