We just got Wynton Marsalis’ latest album, From the Plantation to the Penitentiary (AMG). It features relative newcomer Jennifer Sanon on vocals, and we’re both very pleased with our choice.
I listened to it four times night before last, and probably as many last night. It simply hasn’t left our CD player since we got it Monday.
With this album, in some ways it seems to be more about the lyrics than the music. Matt Collar, for the AMG review, wrote,
Long an outspoken figure in the jazz world and a lightning rod for debate over what constitutes the so called “jazz tradition,” Marsalis is less concerned about the direction of jazz music here and more about the direction of American society.
It is true that, lyrically, this is a very political album, but the thing about Marsalis is that he’s such an accomplished musician that he doesn’t have to be concerned about much of anything for the music to come out sparkling. It might not be a musically revolutionary album, but it is an intensely listenable collection, and I will certainly be returning to it often in the near (and far) future.