Marcus Roberts - Portraits in Blue (1995)

The centerpiece of Portraits is Roberts's retooling of Gershwin's 1924 "Rhapsody in Blue." The original was classical music spiced with jazz; here, jazz holds sway. Roberts makes "Rhapsody" breathe—not just by replacing its rinky-dink, Sousa-style rhythms with loose-limbed grooves, but by opening it up to his improvisers: alto saxophonist Wes Anderson (who evokes Johnny Hodges better than any young hornman), trumpeter Marcus Printup and 19-year-old drummer Jason Marsalis (brother of Roberts's former employer Wynton).