The Majesty of the Blues

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The Majesty of the Blues
Wynton Marsalis The Majesty Of The Blues CD Front Cover.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 13, 1989 (1989-06-13)
Recorded27 October & 28 October 1988
StudioRCA Studio A
Genre Jazz
Length59:57
Label Columbia
Producer Steven Epstein, George Butler
Wynton Marsalis chronology
Works by Husa, Copland, Vaughan Williams, and Hindemith
(1989)
The Majesty of the Blues
(1989)
Crescent City Christmas Card
(1989)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]

The Majesty of the Blues is an album by jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis that was released in 1989.

Contents

Background

The first two selections on the album are played by the Wynton Marsalis Sextet.

The remaining three tracks (side B on the original LP release), a set entitled "New Orleans Function", feature the sextet with additional New Orleans musicians in a style influenced by the traditional New Orleans brass band. This section mirrors a traditional jazz funeral, with a dirge-like first selection ("The Death of Jazz"), then a spoken word section ("Premature Autopsies", an essay by Stanley Crouch performed by Jeremiah Wright) and preached like a minister at a graveyard, and a second line number ("Oh, But on the Third Day – Happy Feet Blues").

Track listing

All tracks are written by Wynton Marsalis except where noted.

Side A (The Wynton Marsalis Sextet)
No.TitleLength
1."The Majesty of the Blues (The Puheeman Strut)"15:06
2."Hickory Dickory Dock"9:06
Side B (The New Orleans Function)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
3."The Death of Jazz" 12:39
4."Premature Autopsies (Sermon)"Marsalis, Stanley Crouch 16:22
5."Oh, but on the Third Day (Happy Feet Blues)" 6:44

Personnel

The Wynton Marsalis Sextet

The New Orleans Function

Composed of the Wynton Marsalis Sextet and the following:

Technical personnel

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References

  1. Yanow, Scott. "The Majesty of the Blues". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  2. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 950. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
  3. "Wynton Marsalis: Majesty of the Blues". Rock's Back Pages . Retrieved 27 September 2018.