It’s been a busy week for Wynton Marsalis. Fresh from opening the Edinburgh festival with his monumental 1999 jazz symphony All Rise, the Grammy-winning trumpeter and composer saw the UK premiere of his Concerto for Orchestra at the BBC Proms. And if the former is Marsalis at his most earnestly, sprawlingly ambitious, the latter finds him almost relaxed in a genial, playful tribute to musical Americana.
The giveaway to this newly unbuttoned Marsalis is the tuba, a deadpan commenter throughout the Concerto’s six compact movements. Marsalis sets up his gambit early on: a six-strong percussion section throws out cheeky rhythmic barbs at the rest of the orchestra, who respond lyrically at first, then more forthrightly. The two worlds wrestle and tussle in dances, marches and a swaggering series of solos, that tuba ensuring that flick-knives stay sheathed for these orchestral Jets and Sharks. It’s glossy, punchy writing, setting aside symphonic development in favour of a restless parade of episodes and invention.
