A Date With Wynton

I’m a huge jazz fan. I attribute my love of jazz to my dad, who had a wide array of musical tastes, but jazz was a big genre in my life.  My dad had hundreds of records and I would listen to them with him as a kid. My very first record of my OWN that my dad bought for me was Michael Jackson’s Thriller. I listened to that record on a loop on my little Care Bear record player until it was worn and scratchy.

I remember being a teen and the first ever CD player came out. My dad came home with this huge, monster CD player and the rest is history. Music has always been a huge part of my life. I love all kinds. Jazz is a big one.

On Thursday we had a different kind of date night. I bought us tickets to see Wynton Marsalis at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. I looked forward to the evening for over a month! Not sure who Wynton Marsalis is? Check out a short video about Wynton Marsalis on 60 Minutes:  Click here.

Michael and I decided to fix dinner at home, then get dressed up to go to the show. I made us salads and Michael cooked a few chicken thighs and we were off. I wore my new sexy shirt and a skirt. You can’t tell in this photo but the collar had black lace roses on it. I love it!

The plan was to go to The Heathman Hotel a block from the Hall to get a drink before the show but we were running late.

We had nosebleed seats but we could still see the stage pretty well and it sounded great! Wynton Marsalis came out and played something and then the whole band joined him.

The Schnitz is a gorgeous old building and I love seeing shows there. The band sounded fantastic. They played some modern compositions, some really wonderful songs Marsalis wrote himself, plus old favorites from Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk.

My favorite song was the one written by Marsalis in tribute to one of his mentors who taught him how to play jazz music with a Spanish flavor. It sounded like something you’d hear from Cuba. It was so involved and beautiful and I was sad when the song was over.

Wynton Marsalis sat in the back row with the other trumpet players because he feels more comfortable there instead of in the front. He claims he isn’t a good conductor. He could certainly lead last night though. He was hilarious and engaging! It was a great night! Here is a video of Marsalis in action:

True story: I used to play the piano as a kid. I played mostly Beethoven. I was technically okay but I hated practicing and didn’t really have that “passion” inside to be a musician.

QUESTION: What was the first album you ever owned? Are you a jazz fan?