Uploaded August 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Watch a behind the scenes look at the making of The Ever Fonky Lowdown, Wynton Marsalis's latest opus by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.
Listen now: jazz.org/fonky
“You really just want to be entertained,” says Mr. Game, the sly hustler-narrator played by acclaimed actor Wendell Pierce (The Wire, Treme, Jack Ryan) who presides over Wynton Marsalis’s new masterpiece The Ever Fonky Lowdown. Combining droll commentary with soulful, big band-backed vocals, the Lowdown is definitely entertaining—but it also brilliantly reveals Marsalis’s incisive, panoramic view of modern society.
Featuring the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and guest vocals from Camille Thurman, Ashley Pezzotti, Christie Dashiell, and Doug Wamble, the Lowdown is a funky jazz parable for 2020. It covers terrain from football to politics, from power to poverty, from love and romance to betrayal and corruption; it will make you dance and think. The Ever Fonky Lowdown is a horn-fueled survey of the political malaise and cultural decay now plaguing America—and how Marsalis suggests we might be able to rise above the structures that have been holding us back for centuries.
Track listing
We Are the Greatest (Instrumental)
Mr. Game Speaks: I Am a Winner
We Are the Greatest
Mr. Game: Success Is My Middle Name
They/Let’s Call Them This
Mr. Game: Beware! They’re Going to Cause Problems
The Ever Fonky Lowdown in 4
Mr. Game: Talk Is a Waste of Time
I Don’t Like Nobody but Myself
Mr. Game: We Must Strike First! (Trust Me)
The Drums of War
Mr. Game: The Mandates of Our Democracy
Consideration Blues/I Know I Must Fight/The Drums of War Return
Mr. Game: Who Is We?
What Would the Savior Think?
Mr. Game: Winners Don’t Reflect, We Celebrate
Some for Me, None for You
Mr. Game: We’re Number One!
The Ever Fonky Lowdown in 5
Mr. Game: They Deserved Everything They Got
Night Trader
Mr. Game: They, Too, Want to Be Winners
Mr. Good Time Man
Mr. Game: Shame Is for Losers
Because I Want to, Because I Like to, Because I Can
Mr. Game: A Ridiculous Plea
I Wants My Ice Cream
Mr. Game: Somebody’s Got to Rule
The Ever Fonky Lowdown in 6
Reprise: What Would the Savior Think?
The Ever Fonky Lowdown in 5 & 6
Mr. Game: Your First Prize
Isms, Schisms
Mr. Game: Your Second Prize
Yes/No
Where Has the Love Gone?
Mr. Game: Your Third Prize
Consider This ‘Bout the Filth We Love
Mr. Game: Your Fourth Prize
Everybody Wear They Mask
Mr. Game: You Love These Prizes Because You Live Them
The Ever Fonky Lowdown in 7
Mr. Game: Your Wildcard
I Got a Nagging Feeling
Mr. Game: The Freedom Fighter: Fannie Lou Hamer
The Ballad of Fannie Lou: Part 1
The Ballad of Fannie Lou: Part 2
Mr. Game: Just Let the Memories of Them Die
Why Do We Pick Slavery over Freedom?
Mr. Game: Your Last Prize (The Best One)
Reprise: The Ever Fonky Lowdown in 4
Reprise: I Wants My Ice Cream
I Know I Must Fight
Personnel
THE JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA WITH WYNTON MARSALIS
2019-20 CONCERT SEASON
REEDS
Sherman Irby – alto saxophone, clarinet, flute, and piccolo
Ted Nash – alto saxophone, clarinet, flute, and piccolo
Victor Goines – tenor and soprano saxophones, bass clarinet, and clarinet
Walter Blanding – tenor saxophone
Dan Block – tenor and soprano saxophones and clarinet
Paul Nedzela – baritone saxophone and Bb and bass clarinets
TRUMPETS
Ryan Kisor
Marcus Printup
Kenny Rampton
Wynton Marsalis
TROMBONES
Vincent Gardner – trombone and sousaphone
Chris Crenshaw
Elliot Mason
RHYTHM SECTION
Doug Wamble – guitar and vocals
Dan Nimmer – piano
Carlos Henriquez – bass
Jason Marsalis – drums and tambourine
SPECIAL GUESTS
Camille Thurman – vocals
Ashley Pezzotti – vocals
Christie Dashiell – vocals
Ricky “Dirty Red” Gordon – percussion
Bobby Allende – percussion
Additional performances from:
Sam Chess – trombone (track 7)
Adam Birnbaum – piano (tracks 7, 35, 42, 51)
Charles Goold – drums (track 35)
Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/channel/UCP108sGgYT_TlG2YRColGcg?sub_confirmation=1
To learn more about Jazz at Lincoln Center, visit us at jazz.org
Watch a behind the scenes look at the making of The Ever Fonky Lowdown, Wynton Marsalis's latest opus by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.
Listen now: jazz.org/fonky
“You really just want to be entertained,” says Mr. Game, the sly hustler-narrator played by acclaimed actor Wendell Pierce (The Wire, Treme, Jack Ryan) who presides over Wynton Marsalis’s new masterpiece The Ever Fonky Lowdown. Combining droll commentary with soulful, big band-backed vocals, the Lowdown is definitely entertaining—but it also brilliantly reveals Marsalis’s incisive, panoramic view of modern society.
Featuring the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and guest vocals from Camille Thurman, Ashley Pezzotti, Christie Dashiell, and Doug Wamble, the Lowdown is a funky jazz parable for 2020. It covers terrain from football to politics, from power to poverty, from love and romance to betrayal and corruption; it will make you dance and think. The Ever Fonky Lowdown is a horn-fueled survey of the political malaise and cultural decay now plaguing America—and how Marsalis suggests we might be able to rise above the structures that have been holding us back for centuries.
Track listing
We Are the Greatest (Instrumental)
Mr. Game Speaks: I Am a Winner
We Are the Greatest
Mr. Game: Success Is My Middle Name
They/Let’s Call Them This
Mr. Game: Beware! They’re Going to Cause Problems
The Ever Fonky Lowdown in 4
Mr. Game: Talk Is a Waste of Time
I Don’t Like Nobody but Myself
Mr. Game: We Must Strike First! (Trust Me)
The Drums of War
Mr. Game: The Mandates of Our Democracy
Consideration Blues/I Know I Must Fight/The Drums of War Return
Mr. Game: Who Is We?
What Would the Savior Think?
Mr. Game: Winners Don’t Reflect, We Celebrate
Some for Me, None for You
Mr. Game: We’re Number One!
The Ever Fonky Lowdown in 5
Mr. Game: They Deserved Everything They Got
Night Trader
Mr. Game: They, Too, Want to Be Winners
Mr. Good Time Man
Mr. Game: Shame Is for Losers
Because I Want to, Because I Like to, Because I Can
Mr. Game: A Ridiculous Plea
I Wants My Ice Cream
Mr. Game: Somebody’s Got to Rule
The Ever Fonky Lowdown in 6
Reprise: What Would the Savior Think?
The Ever Fonky Lowdown in 5 & 6
Mr. Game: Your First Prize
Isms, Schisms
Mr. Game: Your Second Prize
Yes/No
Where Has the Love Gone?
Mr. Game: Your Third Prize
Consider This ‘Bout the Filth We Love
Mr. Game: Your Fourth Prize
Everybody Wear They Mask
Mr. Game: You Love These Prizes Because You Live Them
The Ever Fonky Lowdown in 7
Mr. Game: Your Wildcard
I Got a Nagging Feeling
Mr. Game: The Freedom Fighter: Fannie Lou Hamer
The Ballad of Fannie Lou: Part 1
The Ballad of Fannie Lou: Part 2
Mr. Game: Just Let the Memories of Them Die
Why Do We Pick Slavery over Freedom?
Mr. Game: Your Last Prize (The Best One)
Reprise: The Ever Fonky Lowdown in 4
Reprise: I Wants My Ice Cream
I Know I Must Fight
Personnel
THE JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA WITH WYNTON MARSALIS
2019-20 CONCERT SEASON
REEDS
Sherman Irby – alto saxophone, clarinet, flute, and piccolo
Ted Nash – alto saxophone, clarinet, flute, and piccolo
Victor Goines – tenor and soprano saxophones, bass clarinet, and clarinet
Walter Blanding – tenor saxophone
Dan Block – tenor and soprano saxophones and clarinet
Paul Nedzela – baritone saxophone and Bb and bass clarinets
TRUMPETS
Ryan Kisor
Marcus Printup
Kenny Rampton
Wynton Marsalis
TROMBONES
Vincent Gardner – trombone and sousaphone
Chris Crenshaw
Elliot Mason
RHYTHM SECTION
Doug Wamble – guitar and vocals
Dan Nimmer – piano
Carlos Henriquez – bass
Jason Marsalis – drums and tambourine
SPECIAL GUESTS
Camille Thurman – vocals
Ashley Pezzotti – vocals
Christie Dashiell – vocals
Ricky “Dirty Red” Gordon – percussion
Bobby Allende – percussion
Additional performances from:
Sam Chess – trombone (track 7)
Adam Birnbaum – piano (tracks 7, 35, 42, 51)
Charles Goold – drums (track 35)
Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/channel/UCP108sGgYT_TlG2YRColGcg?sub_confirmation=1
To learn more about Jazz at Lincoln Center, visit us at jazz.org
