Wynton Marsalis' "Violin Concerto", not impressed

[Simon Moon]

Not impressed at all, to say the least.

It sounds like a pastiche of Copland and Gershwin.

I can't help thinking, that if anyone else, without the celebrity and notoriety of Marsalis, release this, it would quickly fade into obscurity.

But not only am I not impressed, this actually angers me.

There are so many great, creative composers actually adding to this living, evolving art form, that will remain in relative obscurity.

Magnus Lindberg, Jennifer Higdon, Thomas Ades, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Joseph Schwantner, Augusta Read Thomas and so many others, will sell a fraction of all their recordings combined, of what this one Marsalis recording will sell.

 

[ddk]

Not impressed at all, to say the least.

It sounds like a pastiche of Copland and Gershwin.

I can't help thinking, that if anyone else, without the celebrity and notoriety of Marsalis, release this, it would quickly fade into obscurity.

But not only am I not impressed, this actually angers me.

There are so many great, creative composers actually adding to this living, evolving art form, that will remain in relative obscurity.

Magnus Lindberg, Jennifer Higdon, Thomas Ades, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Joseph Schwantner, Augusta Read Thomas and so many others, will sell a fraction of all their recordings combined, of what this one Marsalis recording will sell.

He’s been technical and soulless as far back as I can remember never really understood his fame much prefer his father’s artistry and the lesser known brother Delfeayo, who I love.

david

 

[Al M.]

Not impressed at all, to say the least.

It sounds like a pastiche of Copland and Gershwin.

I can't help thinking, that if anyone else, without the celebrity and notoriety of Marsalis, release this, it would quickly fade into obscurity.

But not only am I not impressed, this actually angers me.

There are so many great, creative composers actually adding to this living, evolving art form, that will remain in relative obscurity.

Magnus Lindberg, Jennifer Higdon, Thomas Ades, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Joseph Schwantner, Augusta Read Thomas and so many others, will sell a fraction of all their recordings combined, of what this one Marsalis recording will sell.

Thanks for posting this. I agree with you, and it angers me too. There is so much genius music out there that is much less known than this will be, and should be preferred by a much wider public over this kind of music.

Back in the Eighties, already Miles Davis has castigated Wynton Marsalis for his derivative writing and lack of stylistic inventiveness.

 

[Simon Moon]

He’s been technical and soulless as far back as I can remember never really understood his fame much prefer his father’s artistry and the lesser known brother Delfeayo, who I love.

david

Overall, I tend to agree.

But I will say, his early original material was quite good. I still like his debut album and "Think Of One" quite a bit.

I also saw him, and his original band, on tour for the debut album at the Roxy, and it was a pretty impressive show. But after that early period, I agree.

I also dislike that he was such a big influence (maybe the only influence) on Ken Burns' PBS jazz documentary. HIs prejudice against certain kinds of jazz, caused the Burns documentary, to just skip over entire decades.

 

[the sound of Tao]

He’s been technical and soulless as far back as I can remember never really understood his fame much prefer his father’s artistry and the lesser known brother Delfeayo, who I love.

david

Am feeling I’m a touch harsh when I actually say this but Wynton Marsalis is like the Yo-Yo Ma of the jazz world... and also feel Delfeayo Marsalis is the more interesting and listenable musician out of the Marsalis brothers.

Had a listen to the first few bars of Wynton’s violin concerto and it lost me at hello. Hmmm mushy. That said, music has always had those recordings that rely on celebrity to make sales so am not particularly disturbed by one more ephemeral being added to the pile. There is just way too much great music accessible from the past to the present now to even give a moment of angst over any of the passing fluff and lesser stuff.

 

[ddk]

Am feeling I’m a touch harsh when I actually say this but Wynton Marsalis is like the Yo-Yo Ma of the jazz world... and also feel Delfeayo Marsalis is the more interesting and listenable musician out of the Marsalis brothers.

Had a listen to the first few bars of Wynton’s violin concerto and it lost me at hello. Hmmm mushy. That said, music has always had those recordings that rely on celebrity to make sales so am not particularly disturbed by one more ephemeral being added to the pile. There is just way too much great music accessible from the past to the present now to even give a moment of angst over any of the passing fluff and lesser stuff.

We're on the same page with regarding Yo-Yo Ma, always kind of constipated !

 

[NorthStar]

To me Wynton Marsalis is pop jazz or pop classical, like "easy listening" Kenny Rogers voice.
It moves nothing in me, about zero. And the same for Kenny G.

As for Yo-Yo Ma (classical), some recordings have nice cello sound.
But it's still generally pop classical.
It depends of the recordings and who's he playing with, or solo interpretations.

Sorry if some people feel offended but I'm speaking from the deep soul of my own chords.
I respect anyone who loves the music of any of them, they are simply not moving my mojo.

This is all easy listening soft pop music, even if they want to call it jazz or classical.
There are much better avenues for saxophonists, trumpetists, cellists, pop vocalists.

It's not a hatred thing, it's a taste thing. We all move to different rhythms.
It's like movies; the best ones are generally the old ones with black and white pictures.

The best stories that touch me most aren't the same ones that touch others most.
And there are so many ways to evaluate music and films, as many as there are people on the planet...7.7 billion.

The best is what we like. The rest is what they like.

I like Opera, Tango, Fellini and Charlie Chaplin.

 

[Simon Moon]

A horrible thought just entered my mind.

Since this recording just received such great reviews by Victor Serinus at Stereophile, this is going to be overplayed at every audio show for the next year.

Hopefully, it will lose favor by next year's T.H.E. Show in LA.

 

[Al M.]

A horrible thought just entered my mind.

Since this recording just received such great reviews by Victor Serinus at Stereophile, this is going to be overplayed at every audio show for the next year.

Hopefully, it will lose favor by next year's T.H.E. Show in LA.

Oh boy. Stereophile has since many years been excessively conservative and "safe" in their musical tastes. Just look at all the recording re-runs of 'classic rock' that have been covered, instead of newer releases.