For his first record since the Pulitzer Prize-winning Blood On The Fields, Wynton returns to bread and butter basics. No historical or socio-political themes here, just good old fashioned romance, love lost to be specific, the most common theme in 20th century music.
As with the rest of the Standard Time series, this is classic American music with mass appeal, well worn ballads and standards such as “You’re Blasé,” “After You’ve Gone,” “I Got Lost In Her Arms,” and one original, the title cut. A mood of deep melancholy is immediately established with “The Party’s Over,” and it is sustained and intensified throughout by a 31-piece string section arranged and directed by Robert Freeman (the same collaboration as on the acclaimed, gold- selling 1984 CD Hot House Flowers, Wynton’s last foray into romantic string arrangements). The strings add an air of nostalgia, a natural counterpart to romance, evoking images of black and white movie-era stars walking alone down 3 a.m. streets, Fedora low over the forehead, cigarette dangling from the lips.
But the strings and the band — pianist Eric Reed, drummer Lewis Nash and bassist Reginald Veal — rarely play more than a subtle, embellishing role behind Wynton, whose trumpet leads on about 95% of this record (a definite plus for die-hard Wynton fans). With shimmering long notes, countless choke and mute effects, the occasional tumbling run and just the right edge of blues inflection, Wynton manages to transcend the clichés, portraying deep, heartfelt emotion.
Of course, this isn’t the record for those craving the hard swinging interplay of an acoustic outfit at full throttle. Reed’s brilliant piano work is limited to comping and the occasional, transitional break; Nash (who recently filled Art Blakey’s drum chair in the Jazz Messengers reunion group) mostly uses his brushes at slow tempo. The obvious problem with a record full of ballads is that it cries out for rhythmic variety. Thankfully, “Baby, Won’t You Come Home” has more of a blues groove, allowing Nash to add a backbeat while Wynton dazzles with a shuddering, muted, wah-wah sound. On “I Got Lost In Her Arms,” Nash adds an interesting, Latin infused shuffle.
Nothing else on this record, however, compares to the 11 minute-plus Marsalis composition, “The Midnight Blues.” Suddenly, the strings seem more vibrant, harmonizing, clashing and restating themes suggesting Beethoven and Stravinsky. The Wynton signature, a short section with droning dissonant rhythms and tense, mournful high notes, alternates with more lyrical blues and swing sections to great effect. The standards may be more marketable, but one can’t help but wish for more of these compositions which showcase Wynton’s true genius.
