Rhapsody in Black

Wynton Marsalis has jazz and classical chops

Wynton Marsalis has won a Pulitzer Prize.Nass, Daniel


Rhapsody in Black - Wynton Marsalis

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April 27, 2023

Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis is internationally known for his outstanding career in jazz. Currently, he is the artistic director of jazz at Lincoln Centre. Many don’t know that he has also found success in classical music. In 1983, he won Grammy awards for both jazz and classical. The classical recording featured trumpet concertos by Haydn, Hummel and Mozart. While the album was a commercial success, Marsalis faced racial tensions with the Prague-based orchestra that recorded the album with him.

Musical selections from Wynton Marsalis

‘Plantation Coffee March’

In 1997 Marsalis’ epic oratorio about slavery and freedom, Blood on the Fields, won the Pulitzer Prize for music. ‘Plantation Coffee March’ is one of the larger pieces from the oratorio work.

2:19 Blues

Composed by Louis Armstrong, Marsalis’ rendition brings this blues classical into the 21st century.

The two-nineteenth brought my baby away
The two-nineteenth brought my baby away
The two-seventeenth will bring her back someday

Standin' in the corner with her feet soakin' wet
Standin' in the corner with her feet soakin' wet
Beggin' each and every man that she met

Twilight

From Marsalis’ first album, Wynton Marsalis, ‘Twilight’ is an original composition featuring his brother Branford Marsalis (saxophone), Clarence Seay (bass), Kenny Kirkland (piano) and Jeff Watts (drums).

Credits

Host: Vernon Neal

Producer: Dan Nass

Writers: Andrea Blain and Scott Blankenship

Additional music selections: Jeffrey Yelverton

Executive Producer: Julie Amacher