| Popis: |
Wynton Marsalis came to the attention of the media in the early 1980s. This was in part because his virtuoso trumpet technique and ability to excel in both jazz and classical music while still a teenager provided the combination of legitimacy and novelty that is the basis for the best light journalism. However, light journalism is not about music; it's about personality. So Marsalis's music became a backdrop that inspired in-depth discussion of his Italian suits, his "controversial statements," his "feud" with Miles Davis and his "obsession" with jazz. Now, nearly 10 years later, the novelty has worn off. Marsalis doesn't play classical music any more, and he's too old for his accomplishments to be amazing because of his youth. (He was afew weeks shy of his 28th birthday when this interview was conducted at his home in downtown Manhattan.) Yet as a musician he has grown impressively. And his statements about the development of jazz and its significance in American culture reflect a degree of study and maturity that he couldn't help but lack as a teenager. In this, his first Callaloo interview, conducted on September 18, 1989, Marsalis traces his musical development. Even beyond their autobiographical significance, his statements about his own revelations as a student of jazz are enlightening in part because they help paint a portrait of the study and discipline required of generations of musicians whose accomplishments were often deemed to be beneath serious discourse. |
