Now available on digital platforms via the Blue Engine label, Wynton Marsalis’ The Ever Fonky Lowdown, directly address the mix of deception, racism, greed, and gullibility that subverts the global fight for human rights and corrupts the possibilities and promise of democracy in America and around the world. The extended composition features the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and vocalists Camille Thurman, Ashley Pezzotti, Christie Dashiell, and Doug Wamble.
The new recording also features narration from acclaimed actor Wendell Pierce (The Wire, Treme, Jack Ryan) who plays the role of “Mr. Game,” whose commentary reveals the “hustle” that keeps us at each other’s throats and prevents us from working together to build a more equitable and friendly world.
“Mr. Game” is a composite strongman, part evangelical preacher, lawyer, businessman, politician, street hustler, newsman, social worker, street corner prophet and reality show celebrity. His language is refined, colloquial and slang and his confidence and populist message keeps you hooked on the line for more. He is consistently charismatic, conniving and irreverent and so shocking in his disrespect for convention as to be provocative.
The Orchestra (written as a character in its own right, and singers, act as an ancient Greek chorus commenting on the action and moving things along. The score covers everything from Gospel Quartet, to American folk, to New Orleans funk, utilizing the swing rhythm, as well as tresillo and other grooves that have yet to be named. The work ultimately asks the question, where do we go from here?
The Ever Fonky Lowdown was written in 2018 to address universal issues of human exploitation and suffering with a specific focus on how those matters have played out in America. The most recent public acts of police violence and the social inequities exposed by the Covid-19 Pandemic have spotlighted national problems and has hit a global nerve as well, as evidenced by the many international protests in solidarity. In this very moment, our world is experiencing more and more social upheaval over a myriad of human rights issues. “Mr. Game” himself says, “We are here tonight, but this is an international hustle. It has played out many times across time and space and is not specific to any language or race. It takes on different flavors according to people’s taste, but always ends up in the same old place.”
Learn more about The Ever-Fonky Lowdown here.
Leave a Reply