Wynton Marsalis Quintet

Wynton Marsalis brings his Quintet to Jazz at Lincoln Center in a special five-piece configuration. Marsalis plays trumpet alongside pianist Marcus Roberts, bassist Reginald Veal, and drummer Jason Marsalis, with a guest tenor saxophonist still to be announced. The two-horn writing is central to the evening’s design, meeting exploratory improvisation with rhythmic shifts, strettos, and changes of mood and key. Expect a set built around the group’s commitment to the dynamic force of swinging jazz, with room for quick collective responses and extended conversation among the players.

This is a contemporary edition of Marsalis’s long-running group. Its musical story, as presented for the concert, reaches from Black Codes from the Underground to the Integrity Suite, which was performed before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023. The ensemble is described as spontaneous, highly interactive, and “serious fun,” a useful guide to the balance here: closely shaped writing for the horns, a rhythm section with a defined role in the architecture, and improvising that can change direction without losing the swing. No independent reviewer comments or account of the quintet’s home base are provided.