Re-creating that romantic feeling is just one of the many challenges a ballad presents to the jazz musician, as Wynton Marsalis discusses with Sonny Rollins, Gerry Mulligan, and others. Wynton, with a rhythm trio, breaks down the musical elements of a ballad, and then takes it one step further. The program is capped with a quartet performance. The Spanish Tinge Jelly Roll Morton said you couldn't play jazz without it. Seldom acknowledged and often under appreciated, the Latin contribution appears in all eras and styles of jazz.
Jazz is used, and continues to function, as funeral music, dance music, show music, and more.
Wynton Marsalis re-creates a few of these styles, with a guest clarinetist, and a young tap dancer, Baakari Wilder, in the studio. With the help of Lionel Hampton and others, Wynton Marsalis opens the doors to understanding how jazz is both a reflection and an integral part of the rituals of American life. One of the most enjoyable and expressive treasures of American culture is the music of Thelonious Monk. And, through visits and performances with guests Milt Jackson, Charles McPherson, Tommy Flanagan, and Roy Haynes share their approaches to solos. Some of the greatest recorded solos in the history of the music are considered, featuring the work of such giants as John Coltrane, Sidney Bechet, Charlie Parker, and Thelonious Monk.