I was taken aback by the beauty of last night’s Higher Ground Hurricane Relief concert, broadcast live from Jazz at Lincoln Center. I tuned in via WNYC-FM for the first couple of hours, then switched to PBS and remained there until the event ended at 1 a.m. One great artist after another kept me glued to the screen. Laurence Fishburne’s orations on New Orleans were great; so was Jeffrey Wright’s dramatic reading from Louis Armstrong’s autobiography. So was Toni Morrison’s reading from Jazz. The Marsalis family’s number, with Ted Nash subbing for Branford, included a brilliant piano solo by Ellis Marsalis, a true master. Trumpeter Irvin Mayfield played “Just a Closer Walk with Thee” in homage to his father, who is still missing. And Cassandra Wilson closed the evening with Duke Ellington’s “Come Sunday,” which brought me to my feet in my own living room.
We jazz critics like to carp about the narrowness of JALC, but recalling last night, we ought to be thankful they’re around when it truly counts, representing our community at its best.
Go here to support the Higher Ground fund.
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