Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis

Two Men with the Blues

(Blue Note)

Willie Nelson has recorded with Herb Ellis, Tin Hat Trio, and Dr. John, so it follows that the intrepid country legend would agree to team with Wynton Marsalis. More surprising is that Marsalis, the buttoned-down trumpeter and apparent chief of jazz police, would deign to perform with the ganja-loving country troubadour. Whatever their motivation, the unlikely duo delivers an easygoing and entertaining set here, finding common ground in well-worn blues, New Orleans chestnuts and Southern standards recorded over two nights in January 2007 at the Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. High-spirited rather than highbrow, the session radiates the same kind of uninhibited energy that usually permeates Preservation Hall. Credit old Willie for loosening up Wynton – no small accomplishment.

Nelson’s 74-year-old voice retains most of its luster, and his behind-the-beat phrasing works well in the jazz context. His guitar plucking shows a trad-jazz sensibility but sounds clumsy next to virtuoso Marsalis and his terrific quartet augmented by Nelson’s fluent harmonica-man Mickey Raphael. Whether simulating car horns on “Bright Lights, Big City,” supplying soft atmospherics to “Stardust” or just wailing on “Rainy Day Blues,” Marsalis and his horn-propelled band steal the show.

Marsalis has always seemed most passionate when paying tribute to his native New Orleans, and his performances are particularly expressive on rousing versions of “Basin Street Blues” and “My Bucket’s Got a Hole In It.” His solos evoke Armstrong, his arrangements are Ellingtonesque and he even contributes playful vocals to two tunes. Saxman Walter Blanding and pianist Dan Nimmer also play with gusto throughout, while Nelson seems most in his element on “Stardust,” “Georgia on My Mind” and a jump-blues version of Merle Travis’ “That’s All.”

- Ed Kopp