Wynton Marsalis is an internationally acclaimed
musician, composer and bandleader, an educator and a leading advocate of
American culture. He has created and performed an expansive range of
music from quartets to big bands, chamber music ensembles to symphony
orchestras and tap dance to ballet, expanding the vocabulary for jazz
and classical music with a vital body of work that places him among the
world’s finest musicians and composers.
Always swinging, Marsalis blows his trumpet with a clear tone, a
depth of emotion and a unique, virtuosic style derived from an
encyclopedic range of trumpet techniques. When you hear Marsalis play,
you’re hearing life being played out through music.
Marsalis’ core beliefs and foundation for living are based on the
principals of jazz. He promotes individual creativity (improvisation),
collective cooperation (swing), gratitude and good manners
(sophistication), and faces adversity with persistent optimism (the
blues). With his evolved humanity and through his selfless work,
Marsalis has elevated the quality of human engagement for individuals,
social networks and cultural institutions throughout the world.
Wynton was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on October 18, 1961, to
Ellis and Dolores Marsalis, the second of six sons. At an early age, he
exhibited a superior aptitude for music and a desire to participate in
American culture. At age eight Wynton performed traditional New Orleans
music in the Fairview Baptist Church band led by legendary banjoist
Danny Barker, and at 14 he performed with the New Orleans Philharmonic.
During high school Wynton performed with the New Orleans Symphony Brass
Quintet, New Orleans Community Concert Band, New Orleans Youth
Orchestra, New Orleans Symphony, various jazz bands and with the popular
local funk band, the Creators.
At age 17 Wynton became the youngest musician ever to be admitted to
Tanglewood’s Berkshire Music Center. Despite his youth, he was awarded
the school’s prestigious Harry Shapiro Award for outstanding brass
student. Wynton moved to New York City to attend Juilliard in 1979. When
he started gigging around the City, the grapevine began to buzz. The
excitement around Wynton attracted the attention of Columbia Records
executives who signed him to his first recording contract. In 1980
Wynton seized the opportunity to join the Jazz Messengers to study under
master drummer and bandleader Art Blakey.
It was from Blakey that Wynton acquired his concept for bandleading and
for bringing intensity to each and every performance. In the years to
follow Wynton performed with Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, Sweets Edison, Clark Terry, John Lewis, Sonny Rollins, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams and countless other jazz legends.
Wynton assembled his own band in 1981 and hit the road,
performing over 120 concerts every year for 15 consecutive years. With
the power of his superior musicianship, the infectious sound of his
swinging bands and a far-reaching series of performances and music
workshops, Marsalis rekindled widespread interest in jazz throughout the
world and inspired a renaissance that attracted a new generation of
fine young talent to jazz. A look at the more distinguished jazz
musicians to emerge for the decades to follow reveals the efficacy of
Marsalis’ workshops and includes: James Carter, Christian McBride, Roy
Hargrove, Marcus Roberts, Wycliffe Gordon, Harry Connick Jr., Nicholas
Payton, Eric Reed and Eric Lewis, to name a few.
Wynton also embraced the jazz lineage to bring recognition to the
older generation of overlooked jazz musicians and prompted the re-issue
of jazz catalogs by record companies worldwide.
https://wyntonmarsalis.org/
