Wynton Marsalis releases The Ever Fonky Lowdown
The extended compositional work is 58 tracks in length
Last updated 21st Aug 2020
Today, Wynton Marsalis has released a new extended composition project - The Ever Fonky Lowdown - which he describes as a “groundbreaking, satirical look at democratic freedom, abuse of power, racism and cultural corruption”. The project certainly is an "extended composition", as it is 58 tracks in length.
Wynton Marsalis’s exploration of socio-cultural and political issues has yielded some of his most inspired and provocative work over the last four decades.
The Grammy-winning trumpeter will be leading his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with special guests including vocalist Christie Dashiell and actor Wendell Pierce, who narrates the piece.
Written in 2018 to address universal issues of human exploitation and suffering, The Ever Fonky Lowdown covers terrain from football to politics, power to poverty, love and romance to betrayal and corruption; Wynton says it will make you dance and sing and it will make you think and reconsider.
Speaking about the album, Wynton says, “Usually I research and learn a lot of new material for longer pieces. For this one, I went with music and mythology that I have lived. From the music my father and great New Orleans drummer and composer James Black played in the 60’s, to the funk we played in the 70’s, to the modern jazz we have been blessed to play, teach and shape over these last decades, The Ever Fonky Lowdown is an antidote to the poisonous (and largely unquestioned) cultural mythology that continues to infect our general quality of life.”
Wynton's father, Ellis Marsalis Jr., passed away earlier this year. He was a musician and educator himself, known as a legend within New Orleans, having taught his sons, Harry Connick Jr., Terence Blanchard, Donald Harrison and Nicholas Payton.
When is The Ever Fonky Lowdown released?
Wynton Marsalis' The Ever Fonky Lowdown will be released digitally on August 21st 2020 through Blue Engine Records.