Customer Reviews

Majesty of the Blues

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I got the cassette befoe the album was released when I was a college DJ. I've just bid farewell to the last shred of tape from playing it so long and so often. The entire piece, particularly the sermon, is a meditation. The sermon puts voice to that which many feel but can not find the way to put into words. Preachy? Yes, but that's what sermons are. At the sermon's core is the truth that in many ways indigenous music forms (jazz, blues) are dying and there are some who are blissfully ignorant or joyously celebrating their demise. But as the sermon says, 'beware of premature autopsies.' As one felow reviewer stated, this disk should be mandarory in all art appreciation classes. Get this disc if for nothing else the sermon. The other tracks are equally evocotive and showcase Wynton's creative genious.

of all of the jazz that i own, this is perhaps my overall favorite...not because it is avant-garde or ultra-cool or tryin to be cute: this is just original, down to earth music that pays homage to the tradition and culture of its influences.
i use to play this for my child, who was a year old when this came out, hoping to instill in her a sense of purpose and spirit.
like true hip-hop, jazz wasnt created for its own sake to propel its own glories into the psyche' of music purists....all music doesnt have to be pretentious or popular or artsy to be accepted; this is just an extension of culture to how people use to live and celebrate the things around them good and bad. marsalis reflects those elements nicely with this.

The majesty of the blues! The blues (to quote a contemporary author) has always been about making the most of things regardless of the situation you find yourself to be in. On the album, The Majesty of the Blues, Wynton Marsalis does just that. The first two cuts set the pace with some of the most soulful, blues-drenched jazz I've ever heard (on par with Thick in the South, Levee Low Moan, and Uptown Ruler). Then on cut three the New Orleans-style funeral is portrayed in all it's glory. This is what the blues is all about: making the most of the situation! Upon the death of the loved one mourners are comforted by the majesty of the music. The sermon on cut four? Eloquent and inspirational, the preacher offers hope through application of the eternal theme of death, burial, and resurrection. Jazz is dead? Better check the autopsy report, that body is alive! The blues will never die for it is the universal cry of the heart for freedom; freedom from bondage, pain, abuse, neglect, want, despair, etc. The album ends with Happy Feet Blues, an unabashed expression of joy that follows the renewed awareness that the best things in life (faith, hope, love, nobility, etc.) cannot be destroyed and are of eternal value. Get the recording and listen to it until you "get it". And be sure to "give it" to somebody else!

Remember albums? This disk was originally conceived as an album -- side two being tracks 3,4 & 5, individually titled 'The Death of Jazz.'

That being said, the old side two is a simulation of a traditional New Orleans funeral -- Blues dirge march to the cemetary, Sermon with band underneath and finally a happy feet blues to celebrate a soul carrying upward and onward to the afterlife. The Sermon doesn't break the flow -- it IS the flow. A burning condemnation (written by the ever eloquent Stanley Crouch) of commercialization and tendency of Americans to destroy our past in the name of 'Progress.'

I whole-heartedly and without reservation recommend this record to anyone interested in Wynton Marsalis' music. This album also marks the start of Mr Marsalis' writing and recording of long form works -- continued in 'Blue Interlude,' 'Citi Movement,' etc.

The sermon is amazing and inspirational. It speaks eloquently of what any musician or artist know to be true. Either you get it or you don't..it's just that simple.
The sermon should be played in every music class in every school in this country. REPEATEDLY- until the message begins to get through that music- and the creation of it- IS and always will be a gift. The limosines and bling mean NOTHING.There is no way to bottle spirit or soul.
The only thing I would add is the quote:
THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO KNOW THE COST OF EVERYTHING,BUT THE WORTH OF NOTHING.
Amen.

I understand what my fellow reviewers are saying about the fact that this album doesn't quiet flow with the long sermon breaking things up. However I disagree that the sermon is a bad piece in and of itself. I myself was inspired by the message of the speech. The backgorund music adds even more meaning to the themes presented by Stanly Crouch.

This album has some fantastic, and often surprising, music on it. It also has a partly spoken-word piece that apparently is difficult for listeners unaccustomed to the provocative politic ground that spoken-word inhabits. But for those who are more interested in good music than political censorship, this album has a lot to offer. Don't believe those who say that one track prevents a CD from being worthwhile. You'd be missing some truly exciting jazz.

Listen to it in a few years and watch what happens. I was 20 years old and in my third year of college the first time I heard the sermon. I originally thought it long, preachy and campy. For some reason though, the words "...you better check those autopsies..." stuck with me. Well into my thirties, I bought the album just for the sermon. Little did I know the rest of the album is a masterpiece. If you believe passion in your workplace is gone (save for you) this is your album. If you believe true art is dead, this album is proof of the antithesis. If you wonder what your higher purpose is, this album can be a conduit to celestial comfort.

This is a concept CD. It's built on the theme of the birth, death, and rebirth of jazz. It also parallels the traditional New Orleans funeral procession as it expressed in the black church. You have to understand this to truly appreciate this work. I am only saying this because some of the reviewers here are criticizing the CD - mainly because of the "sermon" (and to a lesser extent, the last track "Happy Feet Blues"). When I first listened to this CD I had the same reaction. I loved the first two tracks; I had a so-so reaction to the third track; I absolutely cringed when I heard the sermon. I couldn't understand why I was suddenly hearing the rantings and ravings of a fire and brimstone preacher in the midst of a jazz CD! Fortunately, I later learned what Marsalis was attempting to communicate here - the history of jazz. With that realization, I came to appreciate how every track in the CD meshes to form a greater whole.

Incidentally, the sermon ("Premature Autopsies") is given by the Reverend Jeremiah Wright (Senator Barack Obama's former pastor).

I agree with the prior reviewers regarding the unfortunate track 4, the Sermon. It is unacceptably pretentious. It reminds me of Leonard Bernstein, with all his great compositions, laying a real egg with his Kaddish Symphony. Hubris. Those of us who love music -- and I love all kinds, from Bach to George Thorogood -- expect music, not preaching to. Stick to what you do that you do well. If I want a great sermon from the African-American viewpoint, I'll replay Dr. King's.