THE FIFTIES: A PRISM | THE JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA WITH WYNTON MARSALIS

Blue Engine Records, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s in-house record label, will release The Fifties: A Prism by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. Composed and arranged by Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra trombonist Christopher Crenshaw and recorded live at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall–also known as the House of Swing–in February 2017, the suite combines many of the different styles and movements that made the jazz of the 1950s so creatively vital. The result is a distinctly modern take on classic jazz idioms. The Fifties is at turns playful and moving, melodic and challenging—but it's always swinging. Blue Engine Records’ The Fifties: A Prism will be available exclusively on digital platforms on May 1, 2020 at jazz.org/thefifties. 

“All jazz is modern,” says Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Managing and Artistic Director, Wynton Marsalis—and we owe the 1950s for that. The momentous decade became the crucible in which modern jazz was formed, as styles like modal, hard bop, third stream, and more melted together and artists like Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, and Ornette Coleman reached the height of their powers.

Now,  Crenshaw has taken inspiration from the era to create The Fifties: A Prism, the newest Blue Engine album. He says, “When I was presented with the idea of coming up with a suite dealing with the 1950s, I immediately realized this was going to cover all the genres of jazz, from bebop to freedom music.”

TRACK LISTING:

I. Flipped His Lid (6:56)
Solos: Sherman Irby (alto saxophone), Stantawn Kendrick (tenor saxophone), Dan Nimmer (piano)

2. Just A-Slidin’ (5:57)
Solos: Vincent Gardner (trombone), Elliot Mason (trombone), Ali Jackson (drums)

3. Conglomerate (5:24)
Solos: Paul Nedzela (baritone saxophone), Wynton Marsalis (trumpet), Stantawn Kendrick (tenor saxophone), Carlos Henriquez (bass),

4. Cha-Cha Toda la Noche (5:31)
Solos: Victor Goines (clarinet), Vincent Gardner (trombone), Carlos Henriquez (bass)

5. Unorthodox Sketches (5:31)
Solos: Victor Goines (clarinet), Sherman Irby (alto flute), Ted Nash (piccolo), Paul Nedzela (bass clarinet)

6. Pursuit of the New Thing (10:14)
Solos: Ted Nash (alto saxophone), Wynton Marsalis (trumpet), Stantawn Kendrick (tenor saxophone)
  
Personnel:
THE JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA WITH WYNTON MARSALIS 
2016-17 Concert Season

REEDS 
Sherman Irby — alto saxophone, alto flute
Ted Nash — alto saxophone, piccolo
Victor Goines — tenor saxophone, clarinet (February 17 only)
*Dan Block— tenor saxophone, clarinet (substitute for Victor Goines, February 18 only)
Walter Blanding — tenor saxophone
*Stantawn Kendrick — tenor saxophone
Paul Nedzela — baritone saxophone, bass clarinet

TRUMPETS
*Tatum Greenblatt
Marcus Printup
Kenny Rampton
Wynton Marsalis

TROMBONES
Vincent Gardner
Christopher Crenshaw — music director
Elliot Mason

RHYTHM SECTION
Dan Nimmer (piano)
Carlos Henriquez (bass)
Ali Jackson (drums)