At first glance, the pairing of jazz legend Wynton Marsalis and country icon Willie Nelson sounds like a novelty. But when the Red Headed Stranger journeyed to the big city to perform with Marsalis as part of the January 2007 Singers Over Manhattan series at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the two artists brought out the best in one another. Luckily for those who missed this meeting of musical minds, Two Men with the Blues is a prized souvenir of that special night.
While most folks think of Willie Nelson as simply a country artist with a taste for fine ganja, here he proves himself a versatile stylist. Nelson conveys cosmopolitan swagger on the slowdance standard “Stardust” before returning to his down-home roots on the rousing “My Bucket’s Got A Hole In It.”
Though he’s no stranger to ambitious projects, one of the problems with Marsalis’ serious attitude toward the craft of jazz is that he rarely sounds as though he’s having much fun. Yet from the opening song, “Bright Lights, Big City,” Marsalis climbs down from his pedestal, loosens his tie, and digs deep into the bluesy side of jazz that anchors this project. Impressive without being pretentious, Two Men possesses an urbane strut that’s perfect for jazzheads—and their country cousins.
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