[jtwrace]

Did any of you see the 60 Minute special on Wynton Marsalis? 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wynton_Marsalis

Can anyone recommend any of his albums?

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dpopular&field-keywords=wynton+marsalis&x=0&y=0

[PSB Guy]

Black Codes (From The Underground) is where I would start, personally.

Cornelis

[mdfoy]

Excellent!  You can't go too wrong with anything he has put out.  My favorite is Citi Movement.  I had the opportunity to meet him and his group as they were putting it together.  A really cool cat. 

[Devil Doc]

The Majesty of the Blues is my favorite.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIwLyjWzgMo

Doc.

[jtwrace]

Thanks guys!  I ordered them up from http://www.secondspin.com/search.jsp?page=1&type=music.keyword.buy&query=wynton+marsalis&image.x=9&image.y=7

[Bob in St. Louis]

The Magic Hour contains the track "The feeling of Jazz"....a true reference song, in every way.
In my opinion, that one song is worth the price of admission.

Also, 'Standard Time', which has several "volumes" is very nice, in a slow jazz chill sorta way.

Bob

[chadh]

I haven't heard many of his more recent releases - but that's because I don't enjoy larger combo material quite as much.  But early on, when he fronted his quartet - wow!  My favorite album is the live release, Wynton Marsalis Live at Blue Alley, which may very well be one of my "desert island" recordings.  I agree that Black Codes is really good.  I like J Mood even more, though - and Standard Time Vol. 1 is not only good, but just wonderfully recorded.  These are all early releases.

The Soul Gestures in Southern Blue releases featured a septet, with Wes Anderson on alto and Wycliff Gordon on Trombone (I can't remember the tenor player's name).  I thought the material was a little less consistent, although the band had this sumptuous, dreamy, romantic sound that it's hard not to love.

I heard a little bit of an interview that Ethan Iverson (the pianist with The Bad Plus) conducted with Wynton Marsalis.  They spent quite a while talking about the "Live at Blues Alley" release.  Iverson said that he thought it was just wonderful.  Marsalis observed that musicians usually seemed to prefer his quartet recordings, while everybody else preferred the septet recordings.  Well - I'm no musician, but I really do love those early quartet recordings.

Chad

[pardales]

I consider "Live at the House of Tribes" an absolute must.   

[neobop]

When Wynton was first starting out he played with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messingers. There are a few albums that feature Wynton on trumpet, and they're smokin. One is called Album of the Year. It was recorded in Paris and has James Williams, Bobby Watson, Billy Pierce and Charles Frambrough. This was recorded in 1981. It's on Timeless. There are also a few on Concord recorded live at Keystone Corner. These have Donald Brown and Branford Marsalis along with Billy Pierce and Frambrough. At least that's the line up on Keystone 3. It was recorded in 1982.

IMO Wynton's early quartet albums are super and he displays a masterful command of the trumpet. It seems that some other musicians are jealous of his success, but that in no way diminishes his accomplishments. Strangely enough, in one way he reminds me of Miles Davis. Even though there's little resemblance in their playing, Miles could direct the band with a few snaps of his fingers or notes on his horn. Herbie Hancock described this in an interview. He said that when things started going in different directions, Miles could bring it together just like that. I get the same feeling about Wynton. Although the structure is usually much tighter, he seems to be able to keep it on course in a similar way.
neo

[jimdgoulding]

I'm a big fan of "Live at Keystone 3" and Wynton's playing is a big reason.  Everybody plays their butt off on this.  The young bass player and pianist really bring it and even Blakey sounds energized and fresh.  This and Free For All with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet (Blue Note) are my two favorite Messenger's albums.  Robin (Satfrat) posted a link awhile back to an MP3 source where tunes can be heard in full.  Don't know if this album is amongst the Blakey selections (and can't remember the site) but if it's there, click on the last track and hold on to your hat!  Really good in-the-club sound, too.

[jimdgoulding]

This is the site address for your reference but I checked and it's not there:  http://mp3shopcart.com.