Concert review and analysis

Jazz Concert: Ellis Marsalis

For a little over two hours on the evening of November 20, I relaxed and let myself go into the free flow of jazz emanating from the piano of Ellis Marsalis and his quartet. Marsalis is -- or ought to be -- one of the leading figures of jazz; according to the program notes he has trained many of today's most renowned jazz musicians, including fellow pianist Harry Connick, Jr. On this particular evening, the other three members of his quartet were Derek Douget on saxophone, Jason Stewart on bass, and Jason Marsales on drums.

What has always struck me as especially impressive about jazz is the way the musicians listen to each other and play off of the sound that the group is producing as a whole, creating a new sound, which in turn is played off of, which creates a new sound, etc., etc., etc. Marsalis and his quartet epitomize this process; in this performance, which was titled "An Open Letter to Thelonius," the musicians each had solos, but their best playing was when the group was working as a mixture of equals, each instrument contributing its own voice at the right time and rhythm.

My favorite piece of the evening was "Light Blue." There was almost a sense of humor to the chord changes, and the way the repeated phrase always seems to end just one note short of complete. It did feel a bit repetitive at times, but this seemed like part of the fun that was written into the music and that Ellis and his quartet had in playing it. Another piece I really liked was "Monk's Mood." Though I wouldn't classify it this one as humorous at all, there is a lightness to it even as it comes across as vaguely somber. The song is like a philosophical meditation without any sense of depressiveness or angst -- just gentle wondering. Other pieces played by the quartet were "Ruby, My Dear," Epistrophy," and "Jackieing." This last was one of the most upbeat pieces of the evening, and I found myself not enjoying it as much. Still, the commitment that Ellis and the rest of the musicians had to the music and to each other as performers was very apparent and enjoyable.