The Majesty of the Blues is a 1989 jazz album by Wynton Marsalis.
Marsalis wrote all the selections on the album, in addition to playing trumpet.
The first two selections on the album are played by the Wynton Marsalis Sextet, including in addition to Marsalis Marcus Roberts, piano; Todd Williams, tenor and soprano saxophone; Wessell Anderson, alto saxophone; Reginald Veal, string bass; and Herlin Riley, drums. These tracks are "The Majesty of the Blues", subtitled "The Puheeman Strut", and "Hickory Dickory Dock".
The remaining three tracks (side B on the original LP release), a set entitled "New Orleans Function", features the sextet along with additional New Orleans musicians in a style strongly influenced by the traditional New Orleans brass band. The additional musicians on the "New Orleans Function" section are Teddy Riley trumpet (mostly playing first trumpet lead, with Marsalis playing second); Freddie Lonzo, trombone; Dr. Michael White, clarinet; and Danny Barker, banjo. This section mirrors a traditional "jazz funeral", with a dirge like first selection ("The Death of Jazz"), then a spoken word section ("Premature Autopsies", an essay by Stanley Crouch performed by Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Jr.) preached like a minister saying the final words at the graveyard, and finally a second line number ("Oh, But On The Third Day - Happy Feet Blues").
The Majesty of the Blues was originally released in the LP, Compact Disc, and Cassette tape formats.
Famous quotes containing the words majesty and/or blues:
“The majesty and riches of the mind,
But dwell in darkness; for your God is blind.”
—George Chapman (1559?–1634)
“Holly Golightly: You know those days when you’ve got the mean reds?
Paul: The mean reds? You mean like the blues?
Holly Golightly: No, the blues are because you’re getting fat or maybe it’s been raining too long. You’re just sad, that’s all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you’re afraid and you don’t know what you’re afraid of.”
—George Axelrod (b. 1922)