Whether you’re an aficionado or jazz-estranged, Marsalis and his big band want to win you over big time

BAND OF GOLD Expect great jazz—and big crowds—when the Jazz at the Lincoln Center show arrives at the Civic.

Chances are if you’re a diehard jazz fan or a celebrity worshipper, you saw Wynton Marsalis’ name looming large on The Civic’s marquee and snagged your tickets to next Thursday’s Jazz at the Lincoln Center (JALC) show ages ago. After all, Marsalis is as big-name as it gets—with a Pulitzer, nine Grammys and 30-plus recordings to his credit, the 46-year-old trumpeter and composer is regarded as an archetype of sophistication, talent and charisma in both the classical and jazz realms. And how often does cutting-edge jazz from the fertile cultural ground that is Manhattan traipse through town, in the awe-inspiring form of a big band no less?

But what of the rest of you? Maybe you’re on the fence about jazz in general. You don’t know much about the music. You tried it once, found some on the radio, but just your luck, you tuned in just as some stray saxophone wandered away from his troupe and, as far as you could tell, all semblance of a justifiable melody in a volley of seemingly unrelated notes in a solo that you’re pretty sure never resolved. Couple that with the genre’s alienating stereotypes—stoic businessmen/fathers circa the ’50s sitting in smoky urban bars with expensive scotch, stiffly snapping their fingers, and arrogant music majors, nodding their heads in tacit approval, enjoying their rich inner monologue of intricate musical theory—and you’ve made up your mind. Jazz is music for other people, not me.

Well, in short, you’ve been missing out, foremost in terms of a significant element of American culture, not to mention crucial context through which to view a portion of American history. Marsalis and his crew, however, might just be the performers to draw you in, and here’s why.

First off, the 15 men who comprise JALC, all of them seasoned professionals who take time away from crafting their own brands as jazz leaders to serve this group, consider it a huge honor to be a part of the ensemble. Says Ted Nash, JALC’s resident alto and soprano sax man and sometimes clarinetist: “Since my early 20s, I’ve been such a big fan of Wynton and what he was doing. It was kind of a private fantasy of mine that someday I would play with him and his group … one of those fantasies that people have but don’t think will ever come true.”

Nash, who has been with the band for ten seasons, called up the organization as soon as he heard a spot had become available and essentially said ‘I’m your man.’ While Nash credits the ensemble with helping him to grow in all areas of his musicianship, he seems to derive the most joy from helping the organization fulfill its mission statement—to bring jazz to the masses via unique educational programs and community outreach, and to “bring people together for a profoundly good time.”

The fact that JALC is a big band is a great asset in engaging its audience. “We’ve heard of big bands used all the way back to old movies to old recordings of Frank Sinatra,” says Nash, invoking the ensemble’s nostalgia factor. “There’s something about the strength and power of all the horns … There are so many colors and textures and it has a certain sound that can be very sentimental.”

JALC’s Santa Cruz show will feature the romantic songs of big band master Duke Ellington. Sure we know him as a jazz giant, but Ellington easily holds status in the broader American songbook. Says Nash, the strength of Ellington’s melodies is that they’re not dated. “They’re almost haunting in their purity and their romance.”

But if there’s one thing that Nash looks forward to most as an ambassador of his genre, it seems to be each performance’s potential to establish a one-of-a-kind, spontaneous rapport between artist and audience, a feat for which jazz is uniquely suited thanks to its penchant for improvisation. “It’s a true exposure of who you are,” says Nash. “Most of time you go through life and you’re like OK, I’m shopping, I’m doing this, I’m talking to somebody. But there are times when you feel like on this Earth, at this moment, this is the spot to be on. That’s an amazing feeling and it doesn’t happen that often.”

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