SALT LAKE CITY — It’s been 25 years since the doors opened for the first Jazz SLC concert, and founder Gordon Hanks shakes his head in disbelief.
“This is a real milestone for the concert series and for the people of Salt Lake,” Hanks said. “When we first started the series, we were hoping to make it five years and it took off in a way we could never have imagined.”
For this anniversary year, Hanks said the series is planning some big concerts with some of the series’ favorite musicians.
“Nobody will be disappointed in the venue. Guaranteed.”
To celebrate his promise properly, Hanks decided to go big by bringing jazz royalty to town. Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra will headline the Eccles Theater on Saturday, Oct. 26. Marsalis said he’s thrilled to be opening for the concert series.
“We love playing for Salt Lake audiences. They’re educated and know their jazz,” Marsalis explained during a recent interview. “But to do this for Gordon at the beginning of this series is a real bonus.”
Born in New Orleans to the legendary Marsalis family, Delfeayo Marsalis spent his early years studying classical music, and it wasn’t until he got a bit older that he started exploring the world of jazz.
“People often assume that we grew up playing music all the time in our house, but it wasn’t so,” he said. “There was plenty of music. But because so much was going on with the civil rights movement in the ’60s and ’70s, those issues were the most important conversations around our dinner table at night. It was less about the music and more about the politics.”
Marsalis is quick to point out the great influence his mother had on the boys growing up.
“Ironically, people assume my father’s side of the family is where we got our start in music, but all the musicians came from my mother’s side of the family and nothing on my dad’s. Mom was the driving force in the family and she was the one who made certain we didn’t miss any classes, did our homework and kept our grades up.”
Like many jazz musicians who were classically trained and then found jazz, Marsalis hasn’t left the impact of classical music behind him.
“We grew up listening to Earth, Wind & Fire, Motown, James Brown, and all the bands at the time,” he recalled. “By the time I came to the point where I could play with those bands, the music scene had really shifted and I gravitated toward jazz. Although I made a shift from classical to jazz, the sound and discipline of that early training is central to all my music.”
Marsalis is a great believer that musicians select instruments based on their personality, as evidenced by his brothers.
“Branford is kind of loud and big, so the saxophone fits him, while Wynton’s personality is perfect for the trumpet,” he said. “I’ve got a trombone personality. The trombone is the instrument that comes in and makes sure everybody is cool. And that’s what I love about it.”
If you go ...
What: Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra
When: Saturday, Oct. 26, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Eccles Theater, 131 S. Main
How much: $29.50 for adults, $10 for students with I.D.
Web: arttix.saltlake.org