Wynton Marsalis Septet - United We Swing: Best of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Galas (2018) [CDRip]

Wynton Marsalis' exuberant 2018 concert collection United We Swing: Best of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Galas brings together a handful of live performances the trumpeter gave on behalf of Jazz at Lincoln Center between 2003 and 2007. Recorded first at New York's Apollo Theater and later at JALC's Frederick P. Rose Hall, these previously unreleased gala performances featured Marsalis and his septet alongside a bevy of special guests, including such luminaries as Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, John Legend, and many more. Of course, all of the performances hinge upon the superb interplay between Marsalis' septet bandmates, including at various times drummer Herlin Riley, bassist Reginald Veal, pianist Dan Nimmer, saxophonist Wessell "Warmdaddy" Anderson, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, and clarinetist Victor Goines, to name just a few of the superb musicians on display here. What's particularly engaging about these gala performances is how successfully Marsalis is able to blend each guest artist's own distinctive style into his septet's swinging, traditional New Orleans jazz aesthetic. It's a sound that works best with guests like the legendary vocal gospel band Blind Boys of Alabama, whose "The Last Time" finds them matching Marsalis' roiling brass band energy with their own earthy, R&B-soaked tones. Similarly captivating is Ray Charles' greasy spotlight on "I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town," in which his vibrant singing is dynamically accented by Marsalis' own rounded, bluesy, plunger-muted asides. Also surprisingly effective are collaborations with less jazz-oriented performers, like John Mayer's yearning, soulful rendition of his own "I'm Gonna Find Another You" and Broadway superstar Audra McDonald's leonine, show-stopping performance of Duke Ellington's "Creole Love Call." Even when Marsalis stretches a song far beyond its original conception, as with Lenny Kravitz's expansive, slow blues reading of "Are You Gonna Go My Way," the results work to bridge artistic connections rather than spotlight any differences. Ultimately, it's that generous artistic connectivity on display throughout United We Swing that makes it such a joyous experience.