Band plays all that jazz: Marsalis' choices are not all traditional

When the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis comes to Ann Arbor on Wednesday, it will be a homecoming of sorts for one member of the ensemble: Drummer Ali Jackson grew up in Detroit and graduated from Cass Tech High School in 1993.

Jackson says some members of his family plan to attend the Hill Auditorium performance, but he's not making any plans for a leisurely evening visit.

"No, we're usually in and out of town pretty quickly when we tour,'' said Jackson, 31, now in his third season with the orchestra. "We're arriving in Ann Arbor the day of the show, and we're leaving the next morning - we've got another show on Thursday, then one on Friday and one on Saturday.''

Such is life when you're a member of one of the premier big-band jazz ensembles in the country - one whose mission includes education. The orchestra often performs during the day at public schools and universities, in addition to its regular evening gigs.

But it's all worth it, even with the hectic schedule, Jackson said.

"It's really an honor to play in this ensemble,'' said Jackson during a phone interview from his home in New Jersey. "You're not going to find another ensemble like this one, with so many virtuosos. Everyone in the band is a really prolific soloist in their own right. Wynton hand-picks everyone in the orchestra for their specific talents.''

Wednesday's program is being billed as "The Love Songs of Duke Ellington,'' but Jackson says that "about half the show will probably be Ellington's love songs and half will be a potpourri of all kinds of jazz, from different eras.

That mix will include "some of Wynton's original compositions, and an amazing piece written by Ted Nash, 'Portraits in Seven Shades,' which is a tone poem of sorts that pays tribute to some of the greatest artists of the 20th century.''

Jackson says that what makes this ensemble special is that "we believe that all styles of jazz are valid, from Louis Armstrong to Ornette Coleman to the Art Ensemble of Chicago to contemporary jazz artists like (recent Grammy nominee) Maria Schneider and Bob Brookmeyer. It all fits under the same umbrella, and we treat it all with care, and approach all of it with enthusiasm and vigor.''

That the ensemble plays the music of contemporary and avant-garde composers may surprise some casual jazz fans who think of Marsalis as a strict traditionalist.

"Yeah, that's a cliché,'' said Jackson. "I don't know where people get that. He's probably one of the most modern musicians of his generation - from his playing to his writing.

"Now, he certainly uses elements of traditional jazz when in his conceptions, but some people don't know how to codify what he does - some people don't make the investment needed to really ascertain what it is he's doing, so they just think of him as just a traditionalist.''