Wynton Marsalis: Cherokee

Putting aside our collectively diverse opinions on Marsalis's extra-musical contributions to jazz, it is nearly impossible to listen to Wynton's playing with the Jazz Messengers in the 1980s and his seven-disc boxed set from the Village Vanguard in the 1990s and not marvel at his technical and musical prowess. On this track from Disc 1 of the Vanguard box, Marsalis absolutely rips through "Cherokee" at a predictably blistering pace for nearly seven minutes, combining his classical chops with a noticeable homage to the masters who have previously recorded this classic.