December 29, 1999.  

Lincoln Center, New York City. The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the Morgan State University Choir. Kurt Masur; conductor.

In this discussion, quotations from Wynton Marsalis are referenced from the liner notes of All Rise, found at wyntonmarsalis.org. The recording used for timestamps is found at this link: All Rise (1999) — Wynton Marsalis

There are several sources documenting the premiere of this monumental work for orchestra, jazz ensemble, and choir. These include the original program, interviews with Wynton Marsalis prior to the performance, and reviews of the piece. 

One review by Jack Sullivan from May/June of 2003 in the American Record Guide, and by John Byrne from the November/December 2003 issue of Musical Opinion offer positive views of this composition. Sullivan wrote that the “variety of moods and styles is astonishing” and offered no criticisms. Byrne would seem to be giving Marsalis high praise when he writes that in "combining the jazz and classical styles, Marsalis must be the true successor to George Gershwin.” This review, however, fails to mention the undeniable influence of artists such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington on both the “traditional” jazz sounds in the work and the lush arranging of the winds and orchestra. Without mention of this, it calls into question the credibility of the review — only mentioning Gershwin and having no critiques of the music itself seems to be a fairly surface level analysis of the music.

A differently angled review by Ben Ratliff, published in the New York Times on December 31, 1999, states that the premiere lasted around 100 minutes, and he goes on to say that “it’s a work that can be prized on intellectual grounds but throughout remains difficult to love” and that certain themes “begged for development”. The last four paragraphs of Ratliff's review appear quite negative, as he closes by saying “its mood is not a feeling of security under the beneficent eyes of God but a mottled question.” Although these critiques are not specific to any parts of the music, Ratliff could be referring to how the movements’ rapid changes in style could be happening too often, and may make the whole work seem incoherent. While there is no doubt that Marsalis poured his soul into this composition, it is easy to understand why some view it as a purely intellectual approach to reflecting jazz and its many influences rather than as an aesthetically successful composition. 

The context of this piece relies on understanding the history of jazz being blended with this type of instrumentation in the past, the easiest example being Duke Ellington (1899–1974). Ellington has many extended works and used instrumentation similar to Marsalis’s All Rise on many occasions. In 2007, John Howland wrote in The Musical Quarterly about a few of Ellington’s pieces, saying, “These stylistically hybrid arrangements may outwardly resemble classical or concert-style musical textures… [but] these idiomatic references are largely caricatures that hold little substantive connection to the formal expectations and conventions of classical music,” meaning that even with a largely different instrumentation, the music was still jazz music. Wynton takes this a little further and says in the premiere program that “this piece has elements of everything from the didgeridoo, ancient Greek music, Fugue, the New Orleans funeral cadence, the fiddler’s reel, the clavé... but I don't strive to combine many different styles in a 'world music' type of mélange. I only try to hear that they are the same." (In the liner notes, Marsalis wrote that he considers the various elements he draws on to be related to the Blues.)

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Movement 1: JUBAL STEP - After the choir intro, this piece becomes very rhythmic (0:54). The piece has a lot of ups and downs but remains within the same tempo and theme of high-low jumping melodies. The last note is played by a whining trombone (11:12). 

Movement 2: A HUNDRED AND A HUNDRED - This movement has a lot of repeating melodies and has different undulating Caribbean rhythms going on the whole time with percussion coming in and out of the groove. Wynton describes it as a “New Orleans Clave”. A big choir comes in at 17:06. 

Movement 3: GO SLOW (But Don’t Stop)  - The transition from the orchestral section to the jazz band at 22:24 is pretty striking because of the immediate texture change. Wynton describes the band as coming in with an “unusual type of integrated harmonic voicing.” There is a great piano solo afterward that dies down to the finishing melody with the orchestra coming back in. 

Movement 4: WILD STRUMMING OF FIDDLE - This section is about the tradition of banjo playing in America and incorporates many different feels and styles. 

Movement 5: SAVE US - At 36:38, the percussion starts creating a grooving rhythm. It is reminiscent of a marching band drum cadence. A cry from the choir comes in almost like they are tormented souls waiting to be saved. Following this cry, an improvised trombone solo comes in (40:44). The choir returns to their cries, saying “Save us” (42:08). They want the torment to stop. The movement ends with a saxophone letting out an extended cry (46:36).

Movement 6: CRIED, SHOUTED, THAN SUNG - The movement begins with a trombone solo in the style of a funeral march (46:52). The clarinet following the trombone is the instrument crying out. While the clarinet may be crying out, the violins are mostly alone in mourning at 49:19. The later part of this movement uses the brass as members of a congregation for the sermon held after the funeral (50:14). The choir comes in to sing about the things people use God and Jesus’s name for (52:38).

Movement 7: LOOK BEYOND - A pastoral theme starts in the strings and moves through the orchestra (55:53). It continues to get repeated by a section of the jazz band. The same thing happens again, but this time, it starts with the cellos (57:33). Each response after the cello proceeds to become more syncopated than the last. This movement is like a mix of folksong and jazz with the rhythms and melodies that occur. After a section with mainly the choir, the movement becomes more folksy.

Movement 8: THE HALLS OF ERUDITION AND SCHOLARSHIP (Come Back Home) - The start of the movement sounds like bell tones being played by the brass section (1:04:47). When the trumpet begins to solo, it is swinging (1:09:03). According to Wynton Marsalis’s website, to swing means to welcome. So, this solo is to welcome people. Wynton Marsalis labels the final section’s chorus as coming from the contemplative space of suffering and resolve that produced the majestic Negro Spirituals. The history behind the chorus is very important to the culture.

Movement 9: EL GRAN’ BAILE DE LA REINA - Described by Marsalis in the liner notes as “an integration of various types of Latin dances, from Argentinian Milonga to Afro-Cuban Mambo”, the movement starts strongly with a percussive groove featuring the claves. At 1:16:40, there is a dialogue between “the man (cello) and woman (violin)”. This happens throughout the movement. At 1:19:01, there is a rather slithery-sounding baritone saxophone solo. The movement ends with a triumphant fanfare-ish melody that is finished with descending strings. 

Movement 10: EXPRESSBROWN LOCAL - For a movement all about trains, it starts strongly, with a trombone sounding quite similar to a train horn at 1:22:23. At 1:23:00, the flutes play notes that are incredibly similar to the sound you’d hear from a train whistle. At 1:23:30, we switch to a more blues-inspired section featuring improvised solos and various sections’ soli. The piece then slows down to a steady groove (1:27:43) with a constant underlying repeated note in the low brass featuring muted horns blowing over top, which leads us to the conclusion of the piece.

Movement 11: SATURDAY NIGHT SLOW DRAG - This movement is centered on “the slow blues” and starts aptly with a slow blues. At 1:29:49, a nicely dissonant harmony comes in and surprises you. The slow blues then continues with some nice call-and-response among instruments at 1:31:38. The piece closes out with lush harmonies on lines written for various sections of the band and orchestra.

Movement 12: I AM (Don’t You Run From Me) - The movement begins in a grandiose fashion and then transitions to a slow swing at 1:35:01, followed by a quick transition back into the longer chords. At 1:36:00, we are greeted by a vocal melody singing “All Rise” which is then joined by the choir. There’s a flute that intertwines with the vocal melody quite nicely. At 1:38:13, the choir again returns with an angry-sounding minor melody with lots of repetition of the phrase “I am”. The choir has a really neat part here, where it moves up and down on “I am” and is very fitting for the end of the piece. At 1:41:32, there’s a transition into a more traditional big band-sounding part, with a swung rhythm and contrasting lines in the woodwinds and brass. The music then continually switches between the big band aesthetic and the Phrygian choral melody. At 1:43:23, we do a complete 180 and return to music fully within the New Orleans Jazz aesthetic, which we can only assume is an ode to the roots of the music that influenced this entire composition — a fitting ending to the piece. 

Questions for Classroom Discussion

1. Would you consider this premiere successful? Why or why not? 

2. What is the significance of the Blues to the music of All Rise? Identify some timestamps or movements in the piece that utilize the blues form. Here is an example of Oscar Peterson’s “C Jam Blues” as a reference: Oscar Peterson - C Jam Blues HD Upscaled Remastered 

3. Duke Ellington is often cited as a major influence of Wynton Marsalis’s compositions. Here is a recording of Juan Tizol’s tune “Caravan”, performed by Duke Ellington’s band: Duke Ellington - Caravan. Where in “All Rise” can you hear musical moments that seem to be inspired by Ellington’s arrangement techniques?

4. How and where in this piece does Wynton Marsalis use musical styles associated with specific cultures?

Bibliography/Further Reading

Primary Sources

Byrne, John. "Wynton Marsalis and LPO at the Bridgewater Hall." Melton Mowbray 129, no. 1449 (Nov/Dec 2005): 65. 

New York Philharmonic. "1999 Dec  29, Subscription Season." Program. https://archives.nyphil.org/index.php/artifact/f2f8019f-d399-4fd3-a1fa-949bbb6ec8af-0.1/fullview#page/1/mode/2up.

New York Times. "Get A Trade and Stick With It." Interaction between Marsalis, Masur, and Spike Lee. New York Times (1999). 

Ratliff, Ben. "Marsalis's Daring Symphonic Step." New York Times (1999). 

Sullivan, Jack. "Marsalis: All Rise." Review. American Record Guide 66, no. 2 (May/June 2003): 112-13. 

Secondary Sources

Gourse, Leslie. Wynton Marsalis: Skain's Domain, a Biography. New York: G. Schirmer, 1999. 

Howland, John. "The Blues Get Glorified: Harlem Entertainment, Negro Nuances, and Black Symphonic Jazz." Musical Quarterly (Fall/Winter 2007). 

McCurdy, Ronald. "President's Message: The Healing Power of Music." International Association of Jazz Educators Conference. Nov 2001.