Wynton Marsalis – Black Codes (From The Underground) (1985/2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Wynton Marsalis – Black Codes (From The Underground) (1985/2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 51:12 minutes | 538 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Columbia

One of the hardest swinging and best-loved of his 1980s recordings wraps listeners in the astonishing group sound that defined Wynton Marsalis. Firey performances by the players jazz writers dubbed “The Young Lions”: saxophonist Branford Marsalis, the “Doctone” – pianist Kenny Kirkland, the “Net Man” – bassist Charnett Moffett, drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, and of course Wynton himself on trumpet.

Grammy Winner for “Best Jazz Instrumental Performance – Group.”

As the cover tells you, it all comes down to knowing and wanting to know, to study and experience, to rebellion against the bondage of ignorance. And no major art can subsist on luck or on natural talent that is never put to the head-slapping test of discipline. So there is never a point at which learning and knowing don’t come together for the best expression of talent. The objective is mastery, which is always born of sophistication. In jazz, mastery has to do with an unavoidable velocity because the improvisor must work in a context where the moment is all. Where the recipe for shape, continuity, and form has to be conceived, mixed, cooked, and served immediately. As with all art, the more you know, the more you can do. And when everything is focused by integrity, you hear the emotion of idealism boiling over the top, spanning moods from the bristling to the frail tenderness of a vulnerable lover’s whisper. This recording has that scope of passion, and it is delivered with a gutbucket high-mindedness as intriguing as it is exciting, as infectious as it is soothing.

This is probably the best Wynton Marsalis recording from his Miles Davis period. With his brother Branford (who doubles here on tenor and soprano) often closely emulating Wayne Shorter and the rhythm section (pianist Kenny Kirkland, bassist Charnett Moffett, and drummer Jeff Watts) sounding a bit like the famous Herbie Hancock-Ron Carter-Tony Williams trio, Wynton is heard at the head of what was essentially an updated version of the mid- to late-’60s Miles Davis Quintet (despite Stanley Crouch’s pronouncements in his typically absurd liner notes about Marsalis’ individuality). The music is brilliantly played and displays what the “Young Lions” movement was really about: young musicians choosing to explore acoustic jazz and to extend the innovations of the pre-fusion modern mainstream style. Marsalis would develop his own sound a few years later, but even at age 23 he had few close competitors. – Scott Yanow

Tracklist:
1-1. Wynton Marsalis – Black Codes (2023 Remaster) (Album Version) (09:35)
1-2. Wynton Marsalis – For Wee Folks (09:12)
1-3. Wynton Marsalis – Delfeayo’s Dilemma (06:51)
1-4. Wynton Marsalis – Phryzzinian Man (06:48)
1-5. Wynton Marsalis – Aural Oasis (05:39)
1-6. Wynton Marsalis – Chambers Of Tain (07:43)
1-7. Wynton Marsalis – Blues (05:21)

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