WYNTON MARSALIS - All Rise (2002) 2CD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Originally conceived for Kurt Masur and the New York Philharmonic in 1999 as a new millennium piece, this outlandishly scaled, exuberantly eclectic, 106-minute monster work for chorus, symphony orchestra, and jazz big band soon became known as a symbol of something completely different. Just two days prior to a scheduled performance by Marsalis, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in 2001, the terrorists of September 11 struck -- and the performance (and subsequent recording with these forces) became a memorial, almost a catharsis, to a terrifying event. Yet "All Rise" would have been a special work in Marsalis' output even without the historical context. Though not quite as lengthy as "Blood on the Fields," "All Rise" nevertheless is the most ambitious thing that Marsalis had written up to this time, a piece that brazenly tries to embrace the whole world (to cite Gustav Mahler's definition of a symphony) and succeeds better than one thought it might. It is also the most fascinating and enjoyable of Marsalis' concert pieces, where the listener shares the composer's delight in opening himself up to new sonic experiences that his highly debatable pronouncements on jazz have long ignored. Cast in 12 movements, the piece is supposed to have been built upon the example of the humble 12-bar blues, but actually, as in other Marsalis concert pieces like "Fields" and "Big Train," the primary driving force is Duke Ellington -- and, to some extent, Charles Mingus. Yet Wynton also throws his classical experiences into the mix, including neo-classical Stravinsky and neo-Baroque brass. He even attempts a string fugue in "Movement 4"; it's stillborn, running in place, but you end up admiring his moxie and his deflating wit in the movement's subtext ("We discover we can do wonderful things, get the big head, and get lost in a labyrinth of our own magnificence"). He mines Cuban and Argentinean rhythms, he includes gospel strains, and he doesn't forget to include stretches of the straightforward neo-bop style that brought him to the world's attention in the first place. He is also very generous with the solos, handing them out to his colleagues in the LCJO while taking one extended coruscating turn himself in "Movement 5." Ultimately, the resonances between this work and September 11 are uncanny. In "Movement 5," following a sequence of war-like drumming, the chorus screams and sings the words, "Save us, O Lord" -- which hit painfully close to home to the Bowl audience. And in the end, the sudden coda -- played in Marsalis' most joyous Dixieland manner -- was a release, like the close of a wake. Even if you have resisted Marsalis' more pretentious concert music in the past, this two-CD set may well make you a believer. Richard S. Ginell   

Tracklist 1 :
All Rise, for soloists, chorus, jazz orchestra & symphony orchestra 
1. Jubal Step 11'22
Wynton Marsalis
Alto Saxophone, Soloist – Wes Anderson
2. A Hundred and a Hundred, a Hundred and Twelve 7'52
Wynton Marsalis
Piccolo Flute, Soloist – Ted Nash
Tenor Saxophone, Soloist – Walter Blanding Jr.
3. Go Slow (But Don't Stop) 9'00
Wynton Marsalis
Piano, Soloist – Peter Martin
4. Wild Strumming of Fiddle 8'13
Wynton Marsalis
Bass, Soloist – Rodney Whitaker
5. Save Us 10'23
William Bell / Horace Shipp, Jr. / Wynton Marsalis
Alto Vocals, Soloist – Cynthia Hardy
Baritone Vocals, Soloist – Elliott Jackson, Kevin McAllister
Tenor Vocals, Soloist – Kenneth Alston
Trombone [1st], Soloist – Vincent Gardner
Trombone [2nd], Soloist – Ronald Westray
Trumpet, Soloist – Wynton Marsalis
6. Cried, Shouted, Then Sung 8'39
Wynton Marsalis
Clarinet, Soloist – Victor Goines
Tuba, Soloist – Norman Pearson
7. Look Beyond 9'05
Derek S. Clark / Wynton Marsalis
Piano, Soloist – Peter Martin
8. The Halls of Erudition and Scholarship (Come Back Home) 10'00
Wynton Marsalis
Baritone Vocals, Soloist – Elliott Jackson
Mezzo-soprano Vocals, Soloist – Miriam Richardson
Soprano Vocals, Soloist – Kenneithia Redden-Mitchell, Sequina DuBose
Tenor Vocals, Soloist – Issachah Savage
Trumpet, Soloist – Marcus Printup
Tracklist 2 :
All Rise, for soloists, chorus, jazz orchestra & symphony orchestra    
1     El 'Gran' Baile de la Reina 7'38
Wynton Marsalis
Baritone Saxophone, Soloist – Joe Temperley
Trumpet, Soloist – Marcus Printup, Ryan Kisor, Seneca Black, Wynton Marsalis
Soprano Vocals, Soloist – Kenneithia Redden-Mitchell, Sequina DuBose
Tenor Vocals, Soloist – Issachah Savage
Trumpet, Soloist – Marcus Printup
2     Expressbrown Local 6'41
Wynton Marsalis
Alto Saxophone, Soloist – Ted Nash, Wess Anderson
Trumpet, Soloist – Ryan Kisor
3     Saturday Night Slow Drag 5'24
Wynton Marsalis
Orchestra – The LCJO
Trumpet, Soloist – Ryan Kisor
4     I Am (Don't You Run From Me) 11'53
Wynton Marsalis
Alto Vocals, Soloist – Cynthia Hardy
Drums, Soloist – Jason Marsalis
Flute, Soloist – Ted Nash
Credits :
Choir – The Morgan State University Choir
Chorus Master – Nathan Carter
Conductor – Esa-Pekka Salonen
Engineer – Todd Whitelock
Ensemble – The Northridge Singers Of California State University At Northridge, The Paul Smith Singers
Orchestra – Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra
Trumpet – Wynton Marsalis