About Me
He is among the most prominent jazz musicians of the modern era, and a well-known instrumentalist in classical music. He is also the Musical Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. A compilation of his series of inspirational letters to a young jazz musical student, named Anthony, has been published as To a Young Jazz Musician. Marsalis has made his reputation with a combination of skill in jazz performance and composition; a sophisticated, yet earthy and hip personal style; an impressive knowledge of jazz and jazz history; and a virtuosity in classical trumpet. As of 2006, he has made 16 classical and more than 30 jazz recordings, and has been awarded nine Grammys, between the genres. Wynton Marsalis was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on October 18, 1961, to Dolores and Ellis Marsalis. He was the second of six sons, one of whom is autistic. Ellis, a music teacher, was a longtime fixture on the New Orleans jazz scene, and several of Wynton's brothers are also notable musicians; saxophonist Branford Marsalis is probably as well known as Wynton. At an early age, Wynton Marsalis exhibited seriousness about study, an aptitude for music, and a desire to contribute to American culture. At age 8 he performed traditional New Orleans music in the Fairview Baptist Church band led by legendary banjoist, Danny Barker. At 14 he was invited to perform with the New Orleans Philharmonic. During high school Wynton was a member of the New Orleans Symphony Brass Quintet, New Orleans Community Concert Band, New Orleans Youth Orchestra, New Orleans Symphony and on weekends he performed in a jazz band as well as in the popular local funk band, the Creators.
At age 17, Marsalis became the youngest musician ever to be admitted to Tanglewood's Berkshire Music Center. Despite his youth, he was awarded the school's prestigious Harvey Shapiro Award for outstanding brass student. When Wynton moved to New York City to attend the Juilliard School of Music in 1978 and began to pick up gigs around town, his talent garnered much attention. Two years later (in 1980), he joined the Jazz Messengers to study under master drummer and bandleader, Art Blakey. It was in Blakey's band that Marsalis learned the relationship between jazz and democracy: Blakey would often say, "No America, no jazz!" It was from Blakey that Marsalis acquired his concept for bandleading and for bringing intensity to each and every performance. In the years to follow, Marsalis was invited to perform with Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, Harry Edison, Clark Terry, Sonny Rollins, and many other jazz legends. Marsalis eventually assembled his own band and hit the road, performing over 120 concerts every year for ten consecutive years. His objective was to learn how to play, and to comprehend how best to give to his audience. Through an exhaustive series of performances, lectures, and music workshops, Marsalis rekindled widespread interest in an art form that had been largely abandoned and redefined out of what he saw as its artistic substance. Marsalis invested his creative energy as an advocate for a relatively small era in the history of jazz. He garnered recognition for the older generation of jazz musicians and prompted the re-issuance of jazz catalog by record companies worldwide. A quick glance at the better known jazz musicians today reveals many students of Marsalis's workshops: James Carter, Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, Harry Connick Jr., Nicholas Payton, Eric Reed and Eric Lewis to name a few. Not content to focus solely on his musicianship, Marsalis devoted equal time to developing his compositional skills. The dance community quickly embraced his works, and he received commissions to create major compositions for Garth Fagan Dance, Peter Martins at the New York City Ballet, Twyla Tharp for the American Ballet Theatre, and for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Marsalis collaborated with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in 1995 to compose the string quartet, At The Octoroon Balls, and again in 1998 to create a response to Stravinsky's A Soldier's Tale with his composition, A Fiddler's Tale. In 1997 he became the first jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize in music, for his epic oratorio, Blood on the Fields, on the subject of slavery.
In 2006, Marsalis' $833,686 annual salary as Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center drew negative attention in an article published by Reader's Digest magazine regarding overspending by non-profit organziations.
