Wynton Marsalis is a world-renowned trumpeter, bandleader, composer and a leading advocate of American culture. Whether you know him from one of his 100-plus recordings, his position as director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra or as a collaborator on Ken Burns’ ”Jazz” documentary for PBS, you are likely to recognize that he is one of the go-to commentators on where jazz has been, and where it is going.
Presently, Marsalis works to ensure the legacy of jazz will continue to inspire for generations to come through his emphasis in education and outreach.
Marsalis brings the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra to Portland on Saturday, Oct. 7, with their season opener “Beyond Black Codes.” The music draws from small-group Marsalis classics including “Black Codes (From the Underground)” — which was inducted into the 2023 class of the National Recording Registry — “The Magic Hour; Standard Time Vol 2: Intimacy Calling,” and other records, including five albums re-issued digitally via Blue Engine Records. The concert will feature the 15-piece band performing works that reflect Marsalis’s communitarian and intersectional concerns.
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