Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis: The Dream Team
By Bret Saunders
www.DenverPost.com
Who doesn’t like Willie Nelson? I’m almost suspicious of someone who doesn’t warm up to his everyman voice and off-kilter guitar style.
Those who are familiar only with his reliable country-radio hits don’t know that when he puts his mind to it, he and “Trigger” (his guitar that seems perilously close to crumbling into dust) can play some jazz. However, if you’ve heard his best-selling “Stardust” album, on which he applied a human touch to standards, or the lesser-heard instrumental “Night and Day,” from 1999, you’re familiar with his affection for a range of music that runs from the Django Reinhardt guitar tradition to the songs of Cole Porter.
Fans won’t be surprised by the new collaboration with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, “Two Men With the Blues” (Blue Note). Paring down the best performances from a couple of nights at New York’s Lincoln Center last year, the disc is relaxed and something Marsalis’ recordings are often not: effortless fun.
It’s essentially Willie’s show. He sings and picks through Great American Songbook material he’s taken on before, like “Georgia on My Mind” and “Stardust,” and explores the possibilities of his own tunes, on “Night Life” and “Rainy Day Blues.” As a jazz vocalist, he’s not seeking perfection or high drama. There’s a plain-spoken eloquence to his delivery, and he often sings slightly behind the beat, indicating a desire to savor these stories. His just-about-in-tune guitar sounds eccentric in the context of a polished group, but that only highlights his individuality as a player.
Marsalis tosses off some searing, beautiful solos throughout, and they’re a testament to his own strengths as a trumpeter who loves his history. He’s at his loosest here, and it says something about his relationship with an audience that his best recordings are in front of a live audience, as this and the Village Vanguard box from 1999 illustrate. Saxophonist Walter Blanding and pianist Dan Nimmer chip in some evocative solos, too. Would it be too much to ask for this group to tour?
Even if they don’t hit the road together (Marsalis is scheduled for a Fort Collins appearance on July 12 and Nelson is at Red Rocks on Aug. 26, so at least we can see them individually this summer), “Two Men With the Blues” is a relaxed celebration of common ground between individuals who, on the surface, might appear to occupy different musical worlds. They don’t: This proves that they’re both beyond any one category.
(The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis plays at 8 p.m. July 12 at the Fort Collins Lincoln Center. Tickets are $55-$85. Find out more at fctix.com.)
