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Wynton - The Only Person in Jazz Who Matters?

I was just wondering when Wynton Marsalis’ opinion became so central to jazz that an article about another musician has to include a discussion about whether that artist gets along with Wynton and the nature of their relationship?

The New Yorker this week has a – mostly – very nice article on Esperanza Spaulding, the Portland, OR bass player. (She just smokes her fiddle BTW. I saw her playing with Joe Lovano last year and she was just phenomenal. She got every bit as much applause as Joe did.) For some reason the author felt compelled to discuss her – and I think by extension all of jazz – through the lens of whether or not Wynton would approve, or even call it jazz. That seems awfully narrow minded.

Granted, he has the loudest megaphone with JALC, but c’mon, is that really necessary?
grimace
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
To be very controversial, I would say Marsalis is the 'Literate White Persons' window to the Jazz world.
So I think the author is reaching to that audience, and by 'authenticating' the connection between Marsalis and the new artist, verifying the OKness of said new artist to the "Literate White Community".
chashmal
605 posts
 
Marsalis is nothing more than a pimp of orthodoxy. He has not had one original or innovative thought in his life. His motto is: if it ain't dead I don't want to hear it. I think his cut off line is around 1955. Just listen to his derision when he speaks of Cecil Taylor and Sun Ra.
tpreaves's avatar
tpreaves
2,515 posts
 
Wynton has let all the ass kissing go to his head and he really believes he is the second coming.His brothers and Father are way more talented in my opinion.
duanegoosen
355 posts
 
"He is certainly the best out there right now"... I'm not a Wynton hater but that is about the raunchiest hunk of cheese that's been cut around here for awhile... everyone knows that music is just like hmmm... maybe the long jump, where only one person can jump the greatest number of feet and inches. Not sure who has sold the most records, but wouldn't that person be the "best"?
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
"best" and most popular are two very different things. Stuff that has sold millions of copies now can be seen as total crap. Other items that sold only in the thousands can be considered great art.
The masses are not the arbitors of greatness.
Though one might argue otherwise... Usually hindsite makes plenty of folks fill those Goodwill bins with old crap ANYONE would be embarassed to own today.
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