Customer Reviews

Fiddler's Tale

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Trumpeter, bandleader, composer Wynton Marsalis comes out "Swinging into the 21st" with a series of seven new releases in 1999 on Sony Classical and Columbia.

A Fiddler's Tale is the second title in this groundbreaking series, and marks the world premiere recording of Wynton's first original composition for strings, with words by Stanley Crouch. Inspired by the classic A Soldier's Tale by Igor Stravinsky, A Fiddler's Tale tells the story of a young musician who sells her soul -- to her record producer.

A Fiddler's Tale features Wynton on trumpet with musicians from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, including renowned artists Milan Turkovic, David Shifrin, Edgar Meyer, and Stefon Harris. A Fiddler's Tale is narrated by the award-winning television and stage actor Andre de Shields.

The only jazz artist ever to win a Pulitzer Prize for music, Wynton Marsalis' music continues to impact far beyond the core jazz and classical audiences. With "Swinging into the 21st", this master musician has created yet another milestone in an already awe-inspiring career. "Swinging into the 21st" is the most comprehensive series of jazz and classical albums to be released by any artist within one calendar year. Each of the eight CDs in the series consists solely of original music by Wynton Marsalis, and each is a different musical concept.

I heard this live at SUNY Purchase following a rendition of Stravinsky's A Soldiers Tale by Marsalis and de Shields. Brilliant! Marsalis never ceases to amaze me and de Shields's rich booming narrative is delightful.

Marsalis and company have taken the old story about the artist who sells his or her soul to the devil and updated it with some wonderful narrative twists. Especially clever and interesting is the way in which the narrator and the devil struggle for control of the story. And the musical score is sensational.

I really enjoyed this CD. Marsalis took the music of Stravinsky's Histoire du Soldat and really made it his own. I'd highly recommend it.