Swing is back

By Becca Vaclavik

In November 2021, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra—led by Wynton Marsalis and made up of 15 of the finest soloists, ensemble players and arrangers in jazz music today—welcomed back inperson New York audiences for the first time since the COVID-19 shutdowns in March 2020.

“It means a lot, because that's what we're here to do,” Marsalis confessed ahead of reopening. “We always appreciated playing, but this time has made us more mindful of how special the opportunity is to be able to play. I think everybody appreciates everything more.”

As the ensemble has gotten back into the swing of things (forgive me for the pun), it has toured across Europe, celebrated Marsalis’ 60th birthday with an in-house concert, and finally, has made its way across the U.S. on tour once again. The orchestra will return to Boulder for a performance in Macky Auditorium on Feb. 21. While the orchestra performed both new and archived material virtually throughout the pandemic in small groups, fans of jazz know that its bright and swinging improv is best experienced in community. Soloists feed off the audience’s energy; each performer takes visual cues from their fellow artists on stage.

To borrow from the great Duke Ellington: It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.

“To look at and see our audience, and to feel that energy, I’m going to be overwhelmed,” said saxophonist Ted Nash, speaking to the New York Times. “We’ve been doing all this virtual stuff, but to create together a sound field and an energy field in person, where all the sounds meld together—this is why I do this.”

Don’t miss the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis Feb. 21 in Macky

Auditorium. Tickets at cupresents.org.