Personnel includes: Wynton Marsalis (trumpet); Robert Freedman (conductor); Branford Marsalis (soprano & tenor saxophones); Kent Jordan (alto flute); Kenny Kirkland (piano); Ron Carter (acoustic bass); Jeff "Tain" Watts (drums).
Recorded at RCA Studio A, New York, New York on May 30 & 31, 1984. Includes liner notes by Stanley Crouch.
Personnel: Wynton Marsalis (trumpet); Harry Glickman, Winterton Garvey, Ingrid Arden, Guillermo Figueroa, Ray Kunicki, Louann Montesi, Peter Dimitriades, Patmore Lewis, Gayle Dixon, Regis Iandiorio, Charles Libove, Diane Monroe (violin); Theodore Israel, Mitsue Takayama, Harry Zaratzian, Al Brown (viola); Seymour Barab, Richard Locker, Alvin McCall, Frederick Zlotkin (cello); Kent Jordan (alto flute); Paul McCandless (oboe, English horn); Andrew Schwartz (bassoon); Branford Marsalis (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Peter Gordon (French horn); Tony Price (tuba); Kenny Kirkland (piano); Ron Carter (acoustic bass); Jeff "Tain" Watts (drums).
Audio Mixer: Tom "Cheen" Geelan.
Audio Remasterer: Mark Wilder.
Liner Note Author: Stanley Crouch.
Recording information: RCA Recording Studios, Studio A, New York, NY (05/30/1984-05/31/1984); RCA Studio A, NY (05/30/1984-05/31/1984).
Photographer: Carol Friedman.
Arrangers: Robert Freedman; Bob Freedman.
This is one of Wynton Marsalis' first recordings--a program of standards played by his first quintet (featuring brother Branford), with the occasional participation of a string and horn section. The orchestrations augment the impeccable Marsalis quintet, but never "sweeten" or compete with it. "For All We Know" and "Melancholia" (the latter with Miles-ian mute playing) features some incredibly beautiful ballad playing from Marsalis, maybe the best he's ever done. It's a laid-back, late-night mood album of considerable and durable substance, as beautiful as any of the early 1960s Miles Davis and Gil Evans collaborations.
