Two Men With The Blues

Willie Nelson, Wynton Marsalis

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 8, 2008)
• Original Release Date: July 8, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B0016NF06O
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,607 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Two Men with the Blues is no more a jazz album than a blues album. It's neither jazz returning home, nor blues wandering out. What Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis have created is a compilation of jump-blues standards with arrangements that compliment both genres. While most of the album is careful not to take itself too seriously, there are a few tracks that seem to plod on for ages. The live set kicks off with the upbeat "Bright Lights, Big City," on which Marsalis' horn is crisp and full. "Ain't Nobody's Business" and "Basin Street Blues" are arranged slower than better known versions but still fit the album's context. Nelson and Marsalis's take on "Stardust" comes off as a bit too "Sinatra" for Nelson's thin vocal, while "Georgia on My Mind" just doesn't work at all. Still, the things that work, work well. "Night Life" and "Rainy Day Blues" are particular stand-outs, and "Caldonia" is a faithful homage to the Louis Jordan original (minus Jordan's screaming punch line, of course). The album ends riding high on closer "That's All," with its straight-out-of-a-New-Orleans-Baptist-church feel. Both Nelson and Marsalis are notorious for collaborating with other artists. Therefore, it seems only natural that they've found themselves on a project together. Overall, this set is well worth the wait. --Eric C.P. Martin

Product Description

The event was simply billed as "Willie Nelson Sings the Blues," but the historic two-night stand on January 12 and 13, 2007 at Jazz at Lincoln Center was far more than that. Call it a summit meeting between two American icons, Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis, two of the most significant figures in modern-day country and jazz, who discovered common ground in their love for jazz standards and the blues. Their performance stirred the sounds of New Orleans, Nashville, Austin and New York City into a brilliantly programmed mix that was equal parts down-home and cosmopolitan, with plenty of swing and just a touch of melancholy. To say that these shows were a hot ticket would be an understatement. Luckily, the tapes were rolling and the results of this unique collaboration now constitute the Blue Note album Two Men With The Blues for everyone who couldn't cram into The Allen Room. Featuring great playing from one of the hottest bands around these classic tracks are given new life by the extraordinary dual talents of Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis. At a time when most people are thinking of retirement, Willie has never been busier. His profile has been high in recent weeks with his various career retrospective releases and sold out tour and this album can rightly stake it's place alongside anything else he has done. Wynton rarely sounds so relaxed and both of these musical giants are clearly having the time of their lives together on these new interpretations of some of the greatest songs of the 20th century.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's all fun ! A mandatory "buy"., July 8, 2008

By	Marie deVarenne (Boston, MA and Leeds, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Two Men With The Blues (MP3 Download)

In early 2007 two of contemporary American music's greatest icons, jazz trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis and country music legend Willie Nelson, teamed up for a couple of unforgettable nights at New York's Lincoln Center.
Both love the blues, and love to play it over-easy, Nelson's vocal staying light and playful.
This album is the souvenir from those evenings. What you don't get is the sight of two aging legends twinkling convivially at each against the night lights of Manhattan, without which the flowering of audience applause around each solo is a little frustrating...
The pair are backed by a crack five-piece band firing on all cylinders - saxophonist Walter Blanding, pianist Dan Nimmer, bass man Carlos Henriquez, harmonica player Mickey Raphael and Ali Jackson on drums.
There are all kinds of blues - downhearted, rude, even goodtime blues. The sort on this recording could be called country blues, because of the presence of Willie Nelson. There are also several party blues, and quite a few pieces, such as "Stardus"t and "Georgia on My Mind", that aren't blues at all.
But the main point is that it's all fun. Nelson, from Texas, and Marsalis, from Louisiana, have no trouble finding common ground. The latter contributes some majestic playing, in the manner of Louis Armstrong. Altogether, as with some of the best blues, this doesn't make you sad, it makes you feel better.
Nelson has always been ready to take on challenges. Here, he turns on the downhome charm, as he joins Marsalis's compact group for a set that has the unpretentious aura of a jam session.
Nelson's vocals on "Stardust" are a touch brighter than Hoagy Carmichael may have intended but the effect is leavened by a smokey, gently twisting trumpet line full of yearning beauty courtesy of Marsalis. Another Nelson standard, "Georgia On My Mind", has a sweet, subdued but compelling intimacy and could legitimately lay claim to the title of ultimate standout track on an album of standout tracks.
Peak of the album: the heady, hard-core blues-ballad rendition of "Night Life", "Caldonia", which swings amiably and "Bright Lights, Big City", which exudes the requisite swagger.
A mandatory buy.
Moment Of Forever
From The Plantation To The Penitentiary

39 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Historic: American Masters at Play, July 9, 2008

By	Dr. Debra Jan Bibel "World Music Explorer" (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Amazon Verified Purchase

Everyone knew that this summit of master musicians would be special. The session was recently broadcast on National Public Radio's Jazz at Lincoln Center, and as we already have an Amazon video excerpt of the event, we can expect to see the entire meeting on PBS, with DVD as pledge gift. The CD, however, has had the opportunity for further electronic mixing and improvements by Delfeayo Marsalis and Jeff Jones. So what can we say about the quality of the music and the personalities? How many superlatives are there? But you first must be a Willie Nelson fan and you must be a jazz enthusiast who honors Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Jazz folk for their precision and urban sophisticated development of New Orleans roots. Thus if you are among that very large number of music lovers, you must own this recording. Even the insert notes and photos are nicely done. As for the selections, we have Nelson's own oft recorded theme song, Georgia on My Mind, and we also have Stardust, which was included in the album of the same title that demonstrated that Nelson was more than a country singer; indeed that album is his all-time best seller. I, however, enjoyed Rainy Day Blues and the other tunes that follow, which are what the album is supposed to be about: the blues. This album is simply fun. You will love it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not the "historic ... summit" the product description would lead you to believe, October 6, 2008

By	D. Johnston (near Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

You can probably figure out what this album might sound like. It's sensible and relatively enjoyable at times, but hardly earth shattering. If you're looking for dinner jazz that might make your guests ask, "Is that Willie Nelson?" This is it.