Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl

Wynton Marsalis describes the big jazz band as "the American orchestra." It's an intriguing and, in many ways, definitive identification of the instrumental collective that has been a foundation ensemble of American jazz and popular music for more than 80 years. Like the classical orchestra, it is an ensemble that has served as the expressive musical vehicle for a particular culture -- in this case, American rather than European. The performance by Marsalis' 15-piece Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl on Wednesday night was a dynamic, living color display of the multifaceted meaning of his description.

By Don Heckman

July 11, 2008