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Celebrated jazz trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis appeared
at lINC on February 5, and showed the campus as stated in the
November 2, 1995 on-line interview that he enjoys "swinging,
soul, not too loud, gut bucket, country, down-home, gumbo-inflected,
tabasco sauce-having jazz music” which has broken the mold for mod
ern jazz artists.
The son of legendary pianist Ellis Marsalis, New Orleans native
Wynton Marsalis received his first trumpet at the age of six. Music was
an integral part of the Marsalis family which also produced tenor saxo
phonist Branford, formerly of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, produc
er Delfeayo, and drummer Jason.
Since, enrolling in Julliard music academy at the age of 18,
Marsalis has worked with pioneering musicians and producers, such as
Art Blakeley and Herbie Hancock. In a musical world that often penal
izes musicians for tr>’ing different genres, Wynton Marsalis has won
awards for both jazz and classical recordings and created the music for a
Charlie Brown television special.
Marsalis is the winner of eight Grammys and the youngest musi
cian to win jazz soloist honors three consecutive times. He has opened
the ears of /\merica to an art form that is distinctly American and inter
woven with the experiences of African-Americans. In 1987, he co-found-
ed the Jazz at Lincoln Center series, remaining its Artistic Director
t(xlay.
Not only has Marsalis introduced the beauties of jazz to a public
accustomed to rock and opera, he has also released a four-part video
series, "Marsalis on Music,”
that teaches children the
rudiments of rhythm and a
history of the genre from
Sousa to Louis Armstrong.
Marsalis continues his role
as a music educator through |
Making the Music, a
National Public Radio series
that broadcasts Thursday nights at 10:00 p.m. M^lking the Music is not
merely a collection of vocal and instrumental stylings by jazz greats
Bessie Smith , Billie Holliday, and Sarah Vaughan, among others; it
examines the development of jazz through the racial and cultural cur
rents in American society.
Between his tours and coaching of protegfe such as Dennis Jeter,
thirty-three year old Marsalis does find to time to pursue other interests.
He authored Sweet Swing Blues on the Road, a book providing accom
paniment to his music through black and white photographs as well as
his reflections on what it means to be a professional artist. At home,
Marsalis plays basketball and spends time with the infant son he
fathered with The Young and the Restless star Victoria Rowell.
Listen to the most popular jazz musician of this generation.
Blood on the Fields, one of Time’s top ten music highlights of 1994, is a
good place to start. Rediscover jazz; it’s more than music, it’s a vibrant
pulse of a global Diaspora.