JAZZ REVIEW : A Triumphant Collaboration : Marsalis’ Music an Ideal Complement to the Movement

Wynton Marsalis may not have been easy to see Wednesday night at Royce Hall as part of “Griot New York,” but feeling him was no problem.

Leading his septet from a lowered orchestra pit in a compelling, and decidedly empathetic, performance with Garth Fagan Dance, Marsalis showed that his compositions continue to become more singular and solidly rhythmic, his improvisations more deeply emotional and impacting.

Take his lovely slow ballad “Spring Yaounde” (from the recent “Citi Movement” album), with the trumpeter as the lone soloist. His leisurely, considered melodies were personal and appealing, delivered with tones that were sometimes as full of breath as a long sigh, sometimes as thin as an oriental fan. These statements, telling a tale of newness, were the ideal complement to the sensuous, elegant movements of dancers Norwood Pennewell and Valentina Alexander.

On the other hand, “The Legend of Buddy Bolden”--Marsalis’ unaccompanied introduction to the evening’s final number, “Highrise Riff”--was the trumpeter at his most joyous, as he growled, whined, moaned and shouted, his horn echoing the swagger of the three dancers on stage.

Marsalis’ compositions as a whole revealed an individualism, as if he’s finally settled into an aesthetic area that is centered mainly on evolutions of ‘50s mainstream jazz. Several of the tunes had a galvanizing Thelonious Monk tinge to them.

Paying close attention to the dancers was difficult if one wanted to fully absorb the music, played with brio by Marsalis’ band. Pianist Eric Reed was a standout, at one point going from notes with plenty of space between them to thick chordal passages--a small gathering growing into a crowd. Also worthy: Wycliffe Gordon, whose trombone notes were alternately round and glistening, then gruff and surly, and bassist Reginald Veal, who began one number with bowed notes that all but throbbed.