Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis: Two Men With The Blues

Every other 2008 album released, from those already out to those awaiting a future Tuesday, are officially put on notice that Two Men With The Blues is in the running for the best of the year. Sure, it’s not an even playing field since it features Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis, two of the greatest musicians in their field brought together by their shared love of blues and jazz standards, but no one said life was fair.

Over two nights in January 2007, Jazz at Lincoln Center presented an amazing evening of music entitled “Willie Nelson Sings the Blues.” Nelson brought along harmonica player Mickey Raphael to join Marsalis and his quartet: pianist Dan Nimmer, bassist Carlos Henriquez, drummer Ali Jackson, and saxophonist Walter Blanding. Those of us who were not lucky enough to get into The Allen Room can now bask in the magic.

The disc opens with Jimmy Reed’s “Bright Lights Big City,” a perfect choice for the former Abbott, Texas resident as he plays the Big City. Raphael and Marsalis trade solos, each capturing elements of the story. Marsalis explains, “Mickey is the sound of the train…and we’re like the car horns.” After they trade leads on the bridge, the sax takes a turn. Then the piano steps out from the rhythm section before coming around to Nelson’s guitar, bringing the story full circle.

Aside from blues and jazz standards, Nelson fans will recognize new takes on his songs. An outstanding rendition of “Night Life” shows that regardless of the fact it’s known as a country song, the lyrics reveal a blues song at its core. Marsalis’ trumpet rings out so sweetly in the intro, and then blows a powerful muted wail as Nelson suggests you “listen to the blues there playing.” The sax then comes in all silky and sultry. As Nelson plays the guitar on the bridge, the seamless blending with the rhythm section makes you wonder why he hasn’t always fronted a jazz band.

Nelson revisits a couple of Hoagy Carmichael numbers from his Stardust album, the title track and “Georgia On My Mind.” The tinkling piano, the brushes on the drums, and the restrained horns create a dreamy, moonlit rendition of “Stardust,” carrying the listener away on a cloud. On the bridge Marsalis comes to the forefront; his horn sounds so beautiful you want to grab your girl and dance the night away. On “Georgia,” Marsalis’ muted trumpet is very poignant, sounding like the narrator’s yearning to return back to his love.

In between these songs, we leave the big city to head south down the Mississippi to “take a trip/ to the land of dreams/floating down the river/ down to New Orleans” on “Basin Street Blues.” The harmonica and trumpet call and respond. After the rest the band completes the bridge, Willie asks, “Aren’t you glad you came with me?” to which the audience responds enthusiastically.

Clarenece Williams’ “My Bucket’s Got A Hole In It” and Grainger Porter’s “Ain’t Nobody’s Business” find Marsalis contributing vocals. He’s portrays the bartender who turns away Nelson and his bucket in the former. The song is also notable because Jackson gets his first drum solo. In terms of the latter, Nelson opens this slow blues and he and Marsalis trade solos. As Marsalis sings Willie’s offers playful asides underneath. They close out the disc with a rousing version of Merle Travis’ “That’s All.” The background vocals and the clapping audience give it a gospel feel.

Thankfully, that’s not all for these two men as they are playing occasional dates across the country and in September the DVD of their concert at Lincoln Center will be released. Their version of “Down by The Riverside” is available as a bonus track on iTunes, which I have mixed feelings about. I am glad there's more material, but since the CD is less than 54 minutes, there was plenty of room to include it.

Trailer for the DVD:

STARDUST (2007) (HD DVD)

Writer/director Matthew Vaughn and co-screenwriter Jane Goldman have created a fun fairy tale based on the graphic novel by Neil Gaiman illustrated by Charles Vess. Fans of the novel will notice changes in the adaptation, but if they are acceptable to Gaiman (“those places where they changed things to make it work as a movie, work just fine.”), they shouldn’t cause too much of a fuss.

The story is set 150 years ago and takes place in the English village of Wall and the magical land of Stormhold. A chance meeting and passionate evening between Dunstan, a young Wall lad, and Una, a young Stormhold lass, produces the infant boy Tristan who is left on Dunstan’s doorstep.

Eighteen years later, The King of Stormhold is on his deathbed. He gathers his remaining sons and tells them the new King will be determined by whoever recovers a ruby necklace. When the king takes it off, the necklace flies off into the night sky, dislodging a star, and both plummet to the ground.

That same evening in Wall, Tristan, who has grown into an awkward young man, is attempting to woo the hand of Victoria, who is only interested in the gifts he has to offer. They notice the falling star, and in attempt to prove his love Tristan proclaims that he will retrieve the star for her. When he finds the star, he discovers she is a young woman named Yvaine, who put on the King’s necklace before Tristan arrived, but he doesn’t let that sway his plans to present the star to Victoria. Yet, things don’t go as he planned. Yvaine has no desire to follow him, and as he will soon discover Lamia the witch is in pursuit of the star because a star’s heart grants immortality.

Being a fairy tale, the “happily ever after” ending isn’t surprising, but the journey is engaging and well worth taking. Stardust is filled with action, adventure, and good humor, and the plot takes interesting and believably motivated turns. The only thing that keeps it from being recommended to all families is the slightly risqué nature of the character Captain Shakespeare.

The Special Features include “Good Omens,” an informative, 30-minute feature that examines the making of the film from different departments and the theatrical trailer presented in HD, and available in SD are understandably deleted scenes that are uncorrected and a blooper reel.

The DVD is presented in 1080p High Definition. The production team made great use of color and the UK countryside. The transfer looks very good but not great, in part because of the director’s choice to shoot with a soft focus at times. This accentuates the film’s fairy tale look, but at times causes the lines to lose their clear, sharp distinction. The audio is Dolby Digital Plus 5.1. The loudness of the music and actions scenes can be a little too much in comparison to the quieter moments, but appears to be the current norm for most Hollywood productions.

STARDUST

Stardust, Mathew Vaughn’s adaptation of the graphic novel by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess, is a marvelous fairy tale the likes of which haven’t been seen on the silver screen since Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride. It is filled with whimsy and menace and laughter, yet at its core is a love story.

Tristan is an awkward young man trying to woo the hand of the pretty Victoria who has no interest. When he hears she is getting married to a rival, he offers to prove his devotion and worth by fetching a falling star and returning with it for her birthday. He leaves the protective boundaries of the village of Wall and heads into the land of Stormhold where he encounters all sorts of magical and mysterious things, including unicorns, sky pirates, and most importantly, the true meaning of love.

When Tristan finds the star, it turns out to be a young maiden named Yvaine. She has no interest in becoming someone’s gift and is rather perturbed about being knocked out of the sky. What dislodges her is a magical jeweled necklace that determines the ruler of Stormhold. It flew out of the hands of the dying King and his sons now seek it to see who is the heir to the throne. Ghosts of the King’s sons also have a vested interest as they are stuck on Earth until the new King is crowned. The quest is made all the more difficult as Yvaine found the necklace lying next to her and put it on before leaving with Tristan.

The path home is made even more difficult as Tristan isn’t the only one who saw Yvaine fall from the sky. Three sister witches do as well and they also have plans to find her and bring her home although their reasons are sinister: when eaten, the heart of a star is a source of longevity and youth. Lamia takes the last they have and ventures out; however, each time she uses magic her appearance returns to her true state.

While all the elements of Stardust are very familiar archetypes from fantasy and fairy tales, they don’t come off as tired clichés. Of course, all the plot lines converge, but do so in a believable way. Vaughn and co-screenwriter Jane Goldman do justice to the graphic novel, although fans of it should know there are numerous changes. However, both Gaiman (“I think it's a lovely movie, and that it's a movie, not a book, and those places where they changed things to make it work as a movie, work just fine”) and Vess (“[they] have managed to capture the essence of the novel and then have skillfully edited as well as extended plot and characters where needed to transform those elements from one medium to another”) are quite fine with the results.

Every moment on screen works. It is so rare anymore when every line, every look of an actor, has purpose and isn’t filler. Michelle Pfieffer’s Lamia deserves to be added to the pantheon of movie witches. Robert DeNiro’s comedic turn as Captain Shakespeare is one of the funniest roles he’s had. Even smaller parts like Mark Williams as a goat turned human and pirates with one line are memorable.

Stardust is a grand fantasy adventure and one of the better films of the summer. Not only do I want to tell people to go see, I want to bring them. While rated PG-13, it’s a very good family film for most. Kids and kids-at-heart will enjoy it.