Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, We The People, Blue Engine **** recommended

This album originated from a 2019 collaboration with the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art located in Bentonville, Arkansas.

It features twelve original compositions inspired by specific works from the museum’s collection.

Each piece corresponds to a different artwork, such as Wynton Marsalis’ title track based on Nari Ward’s sculpture of the same name.

Other pairings include Vincent Gardner’s ‘One Understands’ inspired by Adolph Gottlieb’s ‘Trinity’ and Elliot Mason’s ‘Summer Day’ after Frank Weston Benson’s painting.

The suite is a collaborative effort by the ensemble. Various members of the orchestra contributed arrangements rather than relying on a single composer. Christopher Crenshaw wrote ‘Black Balloon,’ Carlos Henriquez composed ‘The Cycle of Life,’ and Kenny Rampton created the very stirring ‘Mitakuye Oyasin.’

The music blends several styles, including Louisiana bayou sounds, church music and Congo Square traditions.There is a mix of blues, Afro-Latin rhythms, and traditional swing through pieces like Sherman Irby’s ‘A Hot Jam on Grand’ and Ted Nash’s ‘Au Café.’

The album serves as a companion piece to The Democracy! Suite. Both works use jazz to explore themes of unity and social progress.

As you’d expect from this stellar orchestra the musicianship is first class. It’s rare in a littered jazz landscape to hear big band music full stop. But this is unique and the JALCO sound isn’t anything like Europe’s top big band the WDR which follows a different, just as valid, approach. Perhaps JALCO is a little more old fashioned? If so does that matter? Interrogate your taste on that. It’s instructive to actually know what you are looking for as a listener.

I’d pick out ‘Summer Day’ of the tracks for its appealing languor and atmosphere where the woodwinds are mellifluously arranged. And I was moved by Marcus Printup’s ‘Salvation, Serenity, Reflection’ which is very beautiful in its expressivity and sense of narrative. There’s also plenty of puckish fun on ‘Black Balloon’, skittish trumpet playing and silky sax that transports you to another era.