For many, Wynton Marsalis saved pure jazz from a morass of pop fusion and noise. Others contend that the trumpeter instilled a regressive notion of the jazz tradition. This debate, not to mention his instrumental proficiency and compositional ambition, has made him one of the most prominent and controversial jazz musicians of the 1980s and 1990s.
2007-06-14 14:31:04 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Entertainment & Music ➔ Music ➔ Jazz
Yes, he has a big head. He told Ornette Coleman he couldn't play at Lincoln Center with his regular band because he had an electric bass player. Good chops, but who is he to tell Ornette Coleman how to play jazz?
2007-06-14 15:35:24 · answer #1 · answered by Edward K 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are lots of opinions out there about this loaded question. I see anecdotes that speak about his personality.
I don't want to enter or stir an imbroglio, but I must say this;
He is a great musician. He has his own ideas about what Jazz is and how he wants to play it. Unless you can play jazz well enough to work with him, his ego or other personality traits are inconsequential.
It is ridiculous to discuss his personality.
Do you like the music? If so, buy it and listen.
Many great artists have "big egos." In a world where talent is so misunderstood and mistreated, ego is necessary to maintain artistic purpose. Ego is a good thing if it helps a person persevere. To become a musician of his achievement takes perseverance of the highest order.
Besides, we all have egos. If Marsalis has an ego, that just makes him human. If you know anything about music, you will also understand that he can back up his ego with talent. He has spent a lifetime mastering the most difficult style in the most difficult art-form there is; Jazz music.
If his ego seems "big" to anyone, let it be.
...He earned it.
2007-06-16 20:01:02 · answer #2 · answered by Aleph Null 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sure, but so were many jazz musicians. Miles Davis and Coleman Hawkins were all about ego. Charlie Parker was an egotist to the point of being a sociopath/Narcissist. Jelly Roll Morton tried to pass himself off as the "founder" and "creator" of jazz. So Wynton is doing nothing more than following a well-trodden path. A jazz tradition older than his grandfather.
Regressive? What Wynton plays is a thousand times more listenable than the free jazz nightmare that Coltrane, Ornette and Cecil Taylor mired us in in the mid to late 60s. All that squeaking and honking and dissonance....it's interesting at first but just gives you a headache after a short time.
Free jazz circa 1965-69 drove the genre right into the ground. I personally feel that it never has fully recovered. Sure, free jazz liberated the musicians in a way, but it completely drove away the fan base.
Thank God Miles recovered at least some of it with *****'s Brew.
2007-06-14 16:07:41 · answer #3 · answered by douglas c 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I have seen him in a small band, in a small club. I can really say that he is absolutely amazing.
Yes, I do wish that he would advance jazz into its next phase. I'm not sure if I would say that he is good or bad for jazz. I think he is good for bringing people to jazz, but I wish that he would do more for the people that are already jazz listeners. My favorite artists are the guys that started the post bop era, (Dolphy, Andrew Hill, Herbie, Bobby Hutcherson). If Wynton turned a corner, it would be a big risk for him.
Some answers here are about his personality. I've met and talked with him twice. he is a very soft spoken and humble person. for the people that misunderstood your question, and are judging his personality, they are completely wrong, Wynton is not a snob, not even close.
PS-His new album is great, in my opinion. Not because of the progressive writing, but the playing itself is just so fricking good.
2007-06-17 05:58:52 · answer #4 · answered by Teaim 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Wynton Marsalis is good and he knows it. Hes about the best trumpeter around. In other words big ego. Hes also a purist. He greatly resented when his brother Branford recorded with and toured with Sting. 'As for "fusion", if it wasn't for fusion I wouldn't be into Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Django Reinhart, Miles Davis, etc. Fusion was my door into jazz. First The Mahavishnu Orchestra. Then Chick Coreas Return To Forever. And then...
2007-06-16 04:21:17 · answer #5 · answered by Stratobratster 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
douglass c is right about a lot of jazz musicians having large egos but Wynton takes it to a whole other level. Wynton wants to dictate to the world how jazz as a genre is represented, documented,defined and historically viewed. In that respect he has no peer. Also because of corporate structure and support, especially in New York, he has been given a lot of power and crediblity he does not really deserve.
He's a capable musician on his instrument, yes, but not as good technically as others who've preceded him and his dis-respect of people who made it possible for him to even prosper in this field is deplorable. Some don't like the directions other musicians have taken, fine. But many of us
loved the explorations of free jazz and even the best of fusion.
It's funny because even Wynton's siblings (like Branford) and
friends (like Cassandra Wilson) have not adhered to his views in their own work. Wynton is too self serving .
2007-06-16 02:00:08 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I don't think it's ego as much as a tendency to over-intellectualize in his proselytizing and sometimes his playing. You can't deny his virtuosity, nor his contribution to promoting and popularizing good jazz, but his version of the jazz canon is a little narrow for my taste.
2007-06-14 16:27:14 · answer #7 · answered by injanier 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
yes but his brother branford stlye his smooth he is bad
2007-06-14 15:40:14 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I bet there are some black people who think of him and say "Uncle Tom" !
2007-06-16 02:49:46 · answer #9 · answered by Andrew Noselli 3 · 0⤊ 4⤋