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Jazz trumpeter Lennie Foy talks about playing the trumpet during a clinic at the Jazz Festival. (Exponent photo courtesy: Staff photographer Agnieszka Lijowska)

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Jazz Octet Tackles Shakespearean Jazz Suite

Updated: Wednesday, 23 Jan 2013, 1:20 PM EST
Published : Wednesday, 23 Jan 2013, 1:17 PM EST

TOM NOVAK | Exponent Staff Reporter

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (Exponent) - Shakespeare never sounded so good.

Over 1,000 attendees in Loeb Playhouse on Friday night were delighted to hear Delfeayo Marsalis and his octet cover Duke Ellington’s “Such Sweet Thunder” and a few jazz classics written in his hometown of New Orleans, in spite of the fact that he has produced over 100 jazz recordings and released multiple critically acclaimed albums of his own original material.

Tackling such a literate and complicated piece as Ellington’s 12-part suite is no easy task, even for a titan of jazz like Marsalis. Ellington wrote the dynamic suite in an attempt to connect the literary world with the musical world by envisioning jazz pieces inspired by Shakespearean plays.

You can read the rest of this story and other stories at the Purdue Exponent website .