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02/08/2004 Wynton Marsalis wins over the sceptics
The billing suggested that Saturday night's Promenade Concerts might be the season's low point. The early Prom fulfilled the low expectations - Tchaikovsky's Pathetique Symphony was well played, but it was still entirely dispenable middlebrow pap. Miles Davis zealots, some of whom have learned to bristle at the very mention of Wynton Marsalis's name, would have expected little from the late Prom, billed as a concert "celebrating the golden age of big band swing", by Marsalis's Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. But, though the 15 man line-up looked like a pre-bop jazz band, it sounded nothing like one. An eclectic set list covered most bases, from flamenco to blues, Billie Holiday to Mingus, and percussion improv to Duke Ellington's classic suite, Black Brown and Beige. The band shrunk to a quartet for the stunning bebop encore. Though Marsalis used her sparingly, the 18 year old female vocalist was a delight. She would have overshadowed most of the better-known, expensively marketed, contemporary jazzpop chanteuses spreading like a rash across the musicscape. A delightful concert. Marsalis's powerful lyricism and his talented band overcame the prejudice of at least one heavy duty Miles fan. And what handsome suits they wore: the Lincoln Center tailor is also highly recommended.
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