Wynton Marsalis – The Magic Hour
Wynton Marsalis
The Magic Hour
(Blue Note – 2004)
by Paula Edelstein
Wynton Marsalis is a nine-time Grammy Award winning artist, has produced 33 great jazz records and 11 remarkable classical records. He has sold more than seven million records worldwide and in 1997 he became the first jazz musician to win the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Music, which he won for Blood on the Bields. The virtuoso recently joined the roster of legendary jazz label Blue Note Records after a 20-year association with Columbia Records. With the signing, Marsalis is reunited with Blue Note president and music industry veteran Bruce Lundvall, who signed Wynton to his very first record deal in 1980. The Magic Hour is his label debut and with it, Marsalis gets outside of the big band, gospel choir and symphony orchestra format as heard on such huge pieces as All Rise.
He restates his basic love of jazz music in a quartet format with pianist Eric Lewis, bassist Carlos Henriquez and drummer Ali Jackson. The Magic Hour features eight original musical messages that convey empathy, understanding and very meaningful jazz music. Special guests Dianne Reeves and Bobby McFerrin add their great sense of jazz to this excellent and very special chapter in the career of Wynton Marsalis.
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