Wynton Marsalis: Popular Songs: The Best Of Wynton Marsalis

Columbia's "best of" collection, at 76 minutes, covers a lot of territory. The trumpeter is expressive and unique. Hard work has always enabled Marsalis to produce favorable results. His "Cherokee" surges forcefully with an athlete's mindset. "Black Codes" may be his best work to date. On it, a 23-year-old Marsalis found his groove with a sturdy hard bop quintet and modern mainstream jazz in his heart. Expectations were high that his career would follow that theme. He's turned, instead, toward a team-oriented approach that eschews innovation in favor of re-creating sounds from the distant past. Moreover, the trumpeter's solo voice simply doesn't get enough exposure these days.

"Sunflowers," from The Marciac Suite, represents one of Marsalis' more recent works. The pianist takes a solo and the trumpeter trades fours with alto saxophone, soprano saxophone & trombone. However, the spirit of the session hasn't changed much from his Tune In Tomorrow days. What's missing is that man with a horn. In quartet format, Marsalis was quite expressive. His soulful voice stood out. "The End of a Love Affair" was recorded in the late '80s. On it, the trumpeter reveals the pure ballad artistry of a classical artist. When the music is from the heart, swinging, and superb in musicianship, you've got most of the essential ingredients.

Whether you view this celebrity as controversial or not depends on your focus. Are we to consider his trumpet artistry, or his ensemble leadership? Has the composer developed historically significant material? Like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, Marsalis has "played the game" better than most. Like Miles Davis and Charles Mingus, the things he's said have had a significant impact. At 39, he's in a position to do much more with his career than spark controversy over retro musical arrangements and racial or age discrimination. Gifted and talented since childhood, the second son of a professional jazz pianist & educator, and a woodshedder on his instrument, Wynton Marsalis has the required skills. The trumpeter is soulful, too, when he wants to be. Now, it's up to him. Does he want to help lead jazz along its next growth path, or simply rest on his laurels?

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