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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.
Jazz and Drug Use The music industry has often been associated with drug use, but most people think of rock and roll or rap when they consider musicians who use drugs. It may surprise these people to know that jazz music also has its share of drug use, and that this link has been ongoing since well before the 1960s (Aldridge, 28). This is important to consider, since there are many
Drums, piano, and bass all remain strictly rhythmic elements of this piece, though the latter two also provide melodic and harmonic support to this smooth yet snappy piece that is not quite a ballad yet is not nearly up-tempo enough to be considered be-bop. Johnson drives with his sticks on the drums with some liberal symbol use, and Brown keeps a steady bass line moving underneath the melody and
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Incorporating African and Latin sounds into traditional jazz seems natural. Latin jazz uses familiar percussion instruments including congo and other hand drums as well as an assertive horn section. African-influenced jazz may be heavily percussion-driven or may alternatively rely strongly on choral vocals. European jazz musicians have also transformed the art of jazz by using innovative, experimental sounds and improvisational tools. Jazz is a musical genre that is ever-changing,