Willie and Wynton

[garthsj]

This should interest Wynton's fans and detractors ... It reminds me in a way of the highly controversial combination of Stan Kenton and Tex Ritter in that famed Capitol recording ...

The New York Times

January 15, 2007

Music Review | Willie Nelson

Just a Couple of Guys Dressed in the Blues

By NATE CHINEN

Willie Nelson was halfway through a flinty and casually gripping guitar solo on “Rainy Day Blues” when everything clicked into place. It was his fifth song at the Allen Room on Friday night, and the bright young rhythm section onstage was finally locking in. At Mr. Nelson’s right elbow Wynton Marsalis shot the saxophonist Walter Blanding Jr. a knowing glance, one eyebrow appreciatively raised. After a somewhat tentative start, the concert hit its groove.

Mr. Nelson was performing with Mr. Marsalis’s quintet in the first of four sold-out shows organized by Jazz at Lincoln Center, under the heading “Willie Nelson Sings the Blues.” (It was a sequel to a brief encounter several years ago when he played on a gala for the organization.) Because the blues are as much of a bedrock for Mr. Nelson as they are for Mr. Marsalis, this held the simple promise of a meeting on common ground. All Mr. Nelson brought with him was an acoustic guitar and a trusted wingman, the harmonica player Mickey Raphael.

He also brought his intractable style, which posed more of a challenge to the other musicians than any clash of genre. His conversational way with rhythm, in particular, momentarily threw the band. During a series of stop-time breaks on “Basin Street Blues,” the second tune, Mr. Nelson’s phrasing was almost perversely free of tempo, rustling like a breeze. In much the same way, he seemed to regard the jump-blues thrust of “Caldonia” as merely a recommendation, something to heed at will.

And that, as his fans might say, is typical Willie. Though he has had one of the broadest careers in American music, Mr. Nelson is no chameleon. His colors are the same in any setting; and the calm, comforting tone of his voice rarely warps or strains to fit a fashion. “Rainy Day Blues” happens to be the first track on his current album, “Songbird” (Lost Highway), which features anthems by the likes of Leonard Cohen and Fleetwood Mac. Though not on his usual turf, Mr. Nelson sounds entirely unfazed, and unchanged.

Because that was true on Friday too, the onus of adapting rested on the pianist Dan Nimmer, the bassist Carlos Henriquez and the drummer Ali Jackson. They handled it professionally, attuning themselves to Mr. Nelson’s drifting cadences with an increasing understanding and command.

There was no such learning curve for Mr. Marsalis, who played his trumpet with terse, unforced authority right out of the gate. He tinkered a fair amount with timbre throughout the concert, using an array of different mutes and techniques. He was pushing toward a vocal quality, singing through his horn.

Mr. Marsalis also sang with his voice, on a version of “Ain’t Nobody’s Business” that quickly turned into a buddy duet. “I hear you,” Mr. Nelson said sympathetically during a roguish verse by Mr. Marsalis. It was a moment evocative of the banter between Jack Teagarden and Louis Armstrong. And it set a playful tone for what followed, including renditions of “My Bucket’s Got a Hole In It” and “Down by the Riverside.”

But the concert’s most transcendent moments conveyed more of a quiet ache. They were “Stardust” and “Georgia on My Mind,” a pair of Hoagy Carmichael standards that Mr. Nelson long ago personalized. He sang them both with a forthright intimacy, as if telling a cherished bedtime story. And the band was right there with him, emphasizing how the blues are as much a feeling as a form.

Edited January 15, 2007 by garthsj

[Larry Kart]

Had a nice/weird Willie Nelson experience once. In the early '80s perhaps wrote what I thought was fairly insightful review of a Nelson show at some big Chicago-area outdoor theater -- Poplar Creek, I think. A month or so later I get a call from some semi-blown away woman who says that she's Mrs. Willie Nelson and would I hold the phone because Willie wants to say something to me. I'm thinking "sure" and almost hang up when a fair amount of time passes, but damned if Willie himself (pretty completely blown away) doesn't get on the line to say that some phrase in the review (which he quoted) really tickled him, and he wanted to tell me that.

[Tom Storer]

Actually, I think Wynton probably did a good job of providing a comfortably swinging, bluesy backdrop to Willie. I mean, blues and standards are what each of them do, right? Willie doesn't need a cutting-edge modern jazz group, he needs a few pros who can play the blues behind a singer. I'd be surprised if Wynton's quintet didn't fit that bill fine.

One reason I think so is that I heard a recording of the Wynton septet backing Bob Dylan on a couple of Dylan tunes--it worked much better than you would think.

[Simon Weil]

This should interest Wynton's fans and detractors ... It reminds me in a way of the highly controversial combination of Stan Kenton and Tex Ritter in that famed Capitol recording ...

The New York Times

January 15, 2007

Music Review | Willie Nelson

Just a Couple of Guys Dressed in the Blues

By NATE CHINEN

Willie Nelson was halfway through a flinty and casually gripping guitar solo on “Rainy Day Blues” when everything clicked into place. It was his fifth song at the Allen Room on Friday night, and the bright young rhythm section onstage was finally locking in. At Mr. Nelson’s right elbow Wynton Marsalis shot the saxophonist Walter Blanding Jr. a knowing glance, one eyebrow appreciatively raised. After a somewhat tentative start, the concert hit its groove.

A guitarist who used to post to rmb and has played with Wynton said W. doesn't much like guitar (making an exception for him).

Maybe that's just Jazz guitar.

Simon Weil

[chris olivarez]

That was an interesting pairing. As for Willie and Ryan Adams I have to go with Clem on that one I heard a cut off that one and it really sucked.

[Randy Twizzle]

Had a nice/weird Willie Nelson experience once. In the early '80s perhaps wrote what I thought was fairly insightful review of a Nelson show at some big Chicago-area outdoor theater -- Poplar Creek, I think. A month or so later I get a call from some semi-blown away woman who says that she's Mrs. Willie Nelson and would I hold the phone because Willie wants to say something to me. I'm thinking "sure" and almost hang up when a fair amount of time passes, but damned if Willie himself (pretty completely blown away) doesn't get on the line to say that some phrase in the review (which he quoted) really tickled him, and he wanted to tell me that.

[Larry Kart]

Thanks, Randy -- I thought you might be able to find it. Some of the writing seems a bit moist to me now, but Willie sure was in great form that night.