By Marilyn Lester***Elegies, literary or musical, tend to be solemn affairs, but not so in the jazz world. Jazz elegies lean heavily toward celebratory, rooted in the New Orleans traditon of the 
“second line,” the cheery, end-of-funeral playout for the deceased. Tangentially, Duke Ellington composed many tributes and suites of music for the living, such as Ella Fitzgerald, Mahalia Jackson and Louis Armstrong. It’s in this tradition that reed player-composer, Victor Goines, has created the thoughtful and thoroughly magnificent The Woodlawn Suite, which debuted in July 2022, and was recently launched at a CD party concert at Dizzy’s Club.
This 12-part masterpiece was commissioned by the Woodlawn Conservancy, an arm of the historic Woodlawn Cemetery—a National Historic Landmark, certified arboretum, outdoor museum and active, 400-acre cemetery—in the Bronx. 
Goines is, among other accomplishments, a founding member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, a unit that was built by leader Wynton Marsalis on the “Ellington Ethic.” It’s no wonder that the glorious The Woodlawn Suite makes a huge tip of the hat to Ellington and his ever-pioneering work.
In fact, one of the movements is entitled “The Duke’s Men.” There’s a jazz corner in Woodlawn, anchored by the grave of Ellington. Many of the Maestro’s players rest near him, and this piece is evocative of the great Ellington style, with piano supporting a terrific brass section. Other jazz greats who reside 
at the cemetery include Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, Illinois Jacquet, Lionel Hampton and many others. A very personal piece, “One for the Hawk” honors another Woodlawn jazz luminary, trailblazer saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, who was an inspiration to the young Goines.
It’s really no wonder that so many of the musical biographies celebrate musicians—there are so many who rest in the cemetery. There’s Celia Cruz, represented in a spicy, booty-moving mambo-based “A Night in the Latin Quarter.” Tin Pan Alley denizens of Woodlawn are many, from Bert Williams to Irving Berlin, George M. Cohan and Gus Edwards to Nora Bayes. “Down the Alley” commemorates them with an uptempo piece 
that could very well be the overture for a Ziegfeld Follies revue. Representing the many great swing dancers in the cemetery, notably Frankie Manning and Norma Miller, there’s a, yes, very swinging, danceable “Swing-a-ling, Swing-a-Ling.”
Then there’s a hugely cool “The Red Caps” that tips an evocative conductor’s cap to the railroad workers at Woodlawn, with a spirited tune cleverly intimating any number of train sounds. This piece is another nod to Ellington, who loved trains and wrote a number of evocative train songs himself. The Maestro’s influence was also 
apparent in “Madam C. J. Walker,” a swing piece evocative of the sounds of Harlem. The suite ends with two movements, “Notes for the Fallen” and “Until We Meet Again,” New Orleans-style funereal pieces: the first is a mournful reflection and the second an uptempo second-line celebration of lives lived. Tangential to The Woodlawn Suite, Goines wrote the inspiring, lush, symphonic-like “Woodlawn,” a fitting theme song for the beauteous cemetery in the Bronx.
Every movement of The Woodlawn Suite is a stand-alone gem. The band playing at the Dizzy’s CD launch was of such extraordinary quality as to be is transporting. They were: Sherman Irby, alto; Sophia Kickhofel, alto, flute; Chris Lewis, tenor, clarinet; Victor Goines, tenor, clarinet; Lauren Sevian, baritone; Jimmy O’Connell, trombone; Sarah Jacovino, trombone; Jacob; Melsha, trombone; Jennifer Wharton, trombone; Liesl Whitaker, trumpet; Jami Dauber, trumpet; Marcus Printup, trumpet; Kenny Rampton, trumpet; Oscar Rosignolli, piano; Yasushi Nakamara, bass and Cliff Wallace, drums. Likewise, the CD bears the same outstanding playing and is one to be heard over and over and savored.
To purchase The Woodlawn Suite (also available on streaming platforms), click here.
