Wynton gets political

Wynton Marsalis' new Bluenote CD, From the Plantation to the Penitentiary comes out March 6. Marsalis says it is his most political album in years.

He is quoted by Nekesa Moombu Moody in the Associated Press as saying:

"It's been in my mind for a while. Every decade I like to do one piece that has
that kind of social involvement with American culture."

Another unusual aspect of the recording is that it features some of Marsalis' vocals (That's right, you heard me). Something he says comes naturally to him:

"I always try and do something different. I don't try to make any of my
records the same," he said. "I'm always singing and chanting all over my house.
I grew up doing it in New Orleans, chanting and singing and making up rhymes;
long before there was rap music we were doing that. That's the New Orleans'
way."

Read all of Nekesa Moombu Moody's article, Marsalis' New CD Deals with Politics.

Wynton Marsalis comes to Boston March 28 with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.