Page 6 - Media Coverage Book_Wynton Marsalis, The Ever Fonky Lowdown

Wire’s Wendell Pierce who voices the provocative, devil’s advocate of a character,
‘Mr Game’.

Written in 2018 to address the widespread issue of human exploitation and suffering,
with a specific focus on how those matters have played out in America, recent acts of
police violence and the social inequities exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic have
given the work a new poignancy and timeliness. Described as a ‘funky jazz parable
for 2020’, Marsalis described his inspirations for the work: “Usually I research and
learn a lot of new material for longer pieces. For this one, I went with music and
mythology that I have lived. From the music my father and great New Orleans
drummer and composer James Black played in the 60’s, to the funk we played
in the 70’s, to the modern jazz we have been blessed to play, teach and shape
over these last decades, The Ever Fonky Lowdown is an antidote to the poisonous (and
largely unquestioned) cultural mythology that continues to infect our general quality
of life.”

For more info visit wyntonmarsalis.org/discography/title/the-ever-fonky-
lowdown