WYNTON MARSALIS & JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER PERFORM NEW ARRANGEMENTS OF COOL AND HARD BOP CLASSICS AT THE UMS CONCERT SERIES

Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis

Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra are best when performing the music of legendary jazz musicians like Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Horace Silver, Wayne Shorter, and Lennie Tristano with crisp arrangements from orchestra members. Such was the case Saturday evening at Hill Auditorium on the campus of the University of Michigan. It was the orchestra's annual University Music Society concert, and it was more invigorated and youthful than I remember them being, which could rightly be attributed to the excellent soloing of new members, saxophonists Adbias Armenteros, Chris Lewis, Alexa Tarantino, and trombonist Micheal Dease. This time out, the orchestra performed music from the Cool and Hard bop genres, opening with Gerry Mulligan's arrangement of "Godchild" from Miles Davis's landmark album "Birth of the Cool." Marsalis played the changes with such vigor and sophistication God would've had chill bumps listening to him blow. After that opener, the orchestra exposed the heat sources of Horace Silver's "Senor Blues" and Lennie Tristano's "Wow." The orchestra performed new arrangements of well-known jazz standards during the set's second half. The jazz pianist Benny Green composed a song," For Duke Pearson, " honoring Duke Pearson." I prayed the night before the concert that Green would be a surprise special guest, but that didn't happen. Instead, the orchestra's longstanding pianist, Dan Nimmer, was featured, and his fingers danced and dashed across the keys as if their tips were on fire. Nimmer's style is akin to Pearson and Green, and he played the song as if Green composed the song in his honor instead of Pearson. There were more memorable features like the Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker-inspired version of "Star Dust, " featuring trumpeter Ted Nash and baritone saxophonist Paul Nedzela playing counter melodies. Trumpeter Marcus Printup had the devil in tears during his remake of Benny Golson's "I Remember Clifford." The orchestra kept the audience belly full with picturesque offerings of Elmo Hope's "Minor Bertha" and Luther Allison's "Milk Route." The concert ended with Wayne Shorter's "Backstage Sally." The JLCO's presentation might've appeared all over the place to the untrained and unsophisticated ear. The orchestra is world-class and staffed with sophisticated swingers. There was an undeniable beauty to this cool school hard-bop performance.