Old & New

I had originally planned to write this post on the Marsalis family, so I feel a bit obligated to talk about them a little before I get into what I actually want to talk about. Most people know the name Wynton Marsalis, but some don't realize that Wynton is not the only Marsalis in jazz. Wynton, who plays the trumpet, has three brothers who each play jazz as well: Branford on saxophone, Delfeayo on trombone, and Jason on drums. Their father, Ellis Marsalis, introduced them to music early in their lives by being a jazz musician himself (on piano). As I was looking into more of the Marsalis family history I happened upon a video of Ellis Marsalis playing a piano duet at The Marsalis Family: A Jazz Celebration. He's playing the duet with Harry Connick Jr.

Harry Connick Jr. is a jazz pianist and an actor. He was born in 1967 making him considerably younger than Ellis Marsalis who was born in 1934. Harry was born in New Orleans and his parents owned a record store so it came as no surprise when he showed interest in music. He also showed considerable talent, having been recorded with a jazz ensemble at age ten.

The reason I go into this is because I think it is amazing how the old and new jazz can come together. Ellis Marsalis and Harry Connick Jr. are from completely different generations but they can come together and play together because of the bond that jazz ties them together with. Here's the video...enjoy!

Jazz, more than any other type of music, seems to bring musicians together to collaborate in new and inventive ways. We've seen it time and time again. An older jazz musician brings a younger, newer player under their wing and the music that they create is absolutely astounding because it brings together the best of the old and the new. Jazz has spanned the world and it's not going to leave any time soon because it just keeps changing. Musicians will keep collaborating and keep on producing masterpieces. This video is a great example because they're playing "Caravan" which has been around for ages, but it sounds renewed, revitalized and refreshed in this new rendition by the old and the new.

I feel like this is the point of music. As you watch the video, you can see that music is, for lack of a better word, flowing through both Marsalis and Connick, but it's much more than that. They have come to an understanding in that music. They are challenging each other and then coming together to work off of each others' ideas. And, as Marsalis and Connick are connected, so is the audience connected to them. Robert Fripp, an English guitarist and composer, once said, "The perception of the audience is the interesting part. If the audience doesn't hear what is going on, is it going on or not?".

Jazz was (and still is) misunderstood and even disliked by many people. For them, nothing is really "going on", but for those in the audience that understood or even just appreciated what was happening on the stage, jazz has always been "going on" and its' fans have always been enthusiastic and seemingly inexplicably connected to the performers on stage. Like all music, there is no universally accepted taste, but the music still brings those of us together whether it's at a concert or in a class like ours.