I didn't read the article that way. Like it or not---and I don't much---Marsalis has clout and in the context of a New York-based publication, he's likely to get mention. But I thought that the author definitely alluded to Marsalis's inflexibility and narrowness. I also would say that he overpraised Spaulding's album. She has enormous promise, but most of the album lacks any kind of personal stamp.
Wynton - The Only Person in Jazz Who Matters?
I was just wondering when Wynton Marsalis’ opinion became so central to jazz that an article about another musician has to include a discussion about whether that artist gets along with Wynton and the nature of their relationship?
The New Yorker this week has a – mostly – very nice article on Esperanza Spaulding, the Portland, OR bass player. (She just smokes her fiddle BTW. I saw her playing with Joe Lovano last year and she was just phenomenal. She got every bit as much applause as Joe did.) For some reason the author felt compelled to discuss her – and I think by extension all of jazz – through the lens of whether or not Wynton would approve, or even call it jazz. That seems awfully narrow minded.
Granted, he has the loudest megaphone with JALC, but c’mon, is that really necessary?
The New Yorker this week has a – mostly – very nice article on Esperanza Spaulding, the Portland, OR bass player. (She just smokes her fiddle BTW. I saw her playing with Joe Lovano last year and she was just phenomenal. She got every bit as much applause as Joe did.) For some reason the author felt compelled to discuss her – and I think by extension all of jazz – through the lens of whether or not Wynton would approve, or even call it jazz. That seems awfully narrow minded.
Granted, he has the loudest megaphone with JALC, but c’mon, is that really necessary?