ABOUT THE ALBUM

Wynton Marsalis’ The Shanghai Suite is a nine-movement musical meditation celebrating China’s rich culture. Originally composed for the opening of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s club in Shanghai, the sweeping composition also highlighted the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s 22-23 season opening concert. That effervescent performance is now available as a digital album from Blue Engine Records.

Featuring special guest clarinetist Ye Huang, the album explores jazz as a medium for transcultural exchange. In composing The Shanghai Suite, Marsalis walked in the footsteps of illustrious Black American musicians like Teddy Weatherford, who flourished in Shanghai in the 1930s and paved the way for many. Inspired by a love for China’s rich mythology, cuisine, and architecture, Marsalis’ suite was hailed “a special work full of innovative spirit” by the Global Times in China.