By Dave Read, June 26, 2026 performance – Two weeks before the downbeat of the first Boston Symphony Orchestra program of the 2026 season at Tanglewood, 1979 Tanglewood fellow Wynton Marsalis led the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra through a program in the Koussevitzky Music Shed.
The concert was excellent as expected, but surprisingly brief, ending 65 minutes after it began. Maestro Marsalis introduced the concluding number just as a response to the show was beginning to unfold in my mind.
In retrospect, the program felt more like introductory recital than a concert. Each number flowed to its own end, with titles and solos called out, which made it feel serial, adding up to a sum, but not an organic whole, as jazz concerts do. Perhaps this show reflects the state of jazz, in the aftermath of a brighter time, when jazz was available all day long somewhere on FM radio, announced by well-informed deejays, who would also tell of dozens of gigs upcoming throughout the region.
Every part of every tune played tonight sounded as full and bright as could be, yet we expected something more. Earlier performances by Mr. Marsalis, leading various bands and combos, have always left us wanting more.