| Jazz |
In the Marsalis family, know that Delfeayo is the son of Ellis. Delfeayo is both a producer, composer, and trombonist, and just as talented as the rest of his legendary family. In 2007, he founded the Uptown Jazz Orchestra with the initial aim of preserving important musical traditions of jazz, such as riff playing, spontaneous collective improvisations, and collective instrumental polyphony from New Orleans. At the time, Marsalis noticed that the musical community in New Orleans lacked young local talents outside the grand tradition of brass bands, so he chose to form an orchestra capable of presenting traditional, classical, and modern compositions with authenticity. Since then, the UJO has become one of the leading large ensembles in the world, with three critically acclaimed albums and local, national, and international tours. And, to say the least, this album is a more than accomplished example of the work begun in 2007.
Indeed, beyond the preserved traditions, we can also speak of modernized traditions, which is moreover the hallmark of the Marsalis family, who continue to write the word JAZZ in golden letters in the collective universe, and for that alone, we can never thank them enough. Crescent City Jewels brings 16 tracks to life, magnifies them, redraws them, and sincerely adds a gem to New Orleans’ culture. A culture that Delfeayo extends through education, as in 2008, Marsalis founded the educational program “Swinging with the Cool School” (a smooth introduction to jazz for cool kids and adults), which has been used as an experimental form of music therapy at the Children’s Hospital of New Orleans. The Cool School has since expanded to introduce live instrumental jazz to students across the country, aiming to help young people develop a relationship with music, which has gradually disappeared from mainstream radio and media. Through these performances, the UJO is able to introduce students (and adults) to the wide emotional range of instrumental music.
A culture that sometimes becomes poetic, like when you listen to the very short track High Cotton, which introduces a delightful version of Summertime. In fact, I think we could sum up this album with the words of Geraldine Wycoff, who says at the beginning of an article in OffBeat magazine: “New Orleans benefits from many unique and robust aspects of life that can be considered its jewels, or precious stones. As the birthplace of jazz, its singular musical culture — being so closely tied to the African diaspora — is celebrated worldwide. On the latest release from trombonist and bandleader Delfeayo Marsalis, Crescent City Jewels, the musicians of his Uptown Jazz Orchestra, in all its glory, represent a collection of sparkling jewels that perpetuate and expand the traditions of this city, and most importantly, take pleasure in doing so.” You can find the full article HERE.
Good albums are usually praised by everyone, and here we love the style, the message, the content—so many things that push us to place it in our “Essentials.”
Thierry De Clemensat
USA correspondent – Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, September 9th 2024
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