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[MUSIC REVIEW] Dr. John and Wynton Marsalis, Tanglewood Jazz Festival

9.4.06
TANGLEWOOD JAZZ FESTIVAL
September 2, 2006

Wynton Marsalis Quintet
Dr. John with special guests

review by SETH ROGOVOY, critic-at-large, BERKSHIRE LIVING Magazine

(Lenox, Mass., September 2, 2006) -- Such a night it was -- although it would have been slightly better had Dr. John played "Such a Night" and more of his classic tunes (besides "Right Place, Wrong Time," which he did play and which was terrific). The combination of the Wynton Marsalis Quintet and Dr. John's stripped-down, four-piece band (the much heralded, three-piece horn section, including Howard Johnson, was notably absent without explanation) made for a suggestive celebration of jazz and in particular its debt to the New Orleans musical tradition, as the stage was heavy with musicians from that grief-stricken city, celebrating its musical legacy through music and song.

Dr. John delivered a much better set than recent performances had promised, focusing more on songs and less on instrumental jamming. He still seems to have lost some vocal power, but when he was able to let loose he delivered his inimitable New Orleans growl. And his piano playing was in fine form, the direct heir to Professor Longhair's unique style. Dr. John warmed up the crowd with New Orleans-style parade music and funk before singing "Sweet Home New Orleans," his tribute to his hometown.

He next paid tribute to songwriter Johnny Mercer (although this was hardly ever directly acknowledged) with his series of guest vocalists, including Anne Hampton Calloway, Catherine Russell, John Pizzarelli, and Irma Thomas. Such familiar numbers as "Come Rain or Come Shine," "Makin' Whoopee," "Moon River," and "Accentuate the Positive" were all given the Dr. John treatment, so that they blended well with the rest of the show. Perhaps this might have disappointed the Johnny Mercer purists in the crowd, but the singers were all spectacular, and it made for quite an exciting finale when everyone, including Marsalis's band, joined forces for a rollicking finale based on a New Orleans second-line (funeral) march, which of course is the most joyous music of all. We even got to see Wynton Marsalis dance.

Marsalis and company were good, but it's a shame to put this small-chamber jazz on the stage of the Shed, amplify it mercilessly, and expect it to get across the way it's meant to be heard -- as chamber jazz, in the same way that a string quartet is meant to be heard in a chamber, or at least in an acoustic setting like Ozawa Hall. In any case, reports that Marsalis has damaged his lip beyond repair seemed premature, as the trumpeter exhibited deft power and control on original numbers and jazz standards like "Cherokee" and "Big Fat Hen," which also was rooted in New Orleans, gussied up, and taken out for a stroll.





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