Wynton Marsalis provides old tunes with a fresh sound
A sustained air of anticipation filled Overture Hall on Saturday night where, mere feet from the stage, jazz legend Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (JLCO) tuned and tested an array of iconic orchestral elements. Roughly 2,000 attendees erupted into applause as the lights dimmed to greet the opening act: the Badger High School Jazz Ensemble, based out of Lake Geneva. The group performed two brief renditions of the big band jazz style, featuring solos from the bells of trumpets, saxophones and gentle touches of the piano. The group holds a boastful record of three trips to New York City, where the Essentially Ellington jazz competition selects 15 bands from a national pool to perform. Matching the tenacity of the ensemble, the crowd followed in traditional jazz concert fashion, tossing a flurry of hollers, whoops and cheers to the end of each solo. The brief, 20-minute opening act demanded the adoration of jazz patrons in the hall that night, and they earned it.