Del.icio.usWynton Marsalis
Fact Sheet
| Occupation | Trumpeter |
| Musical genre: | Jazz |
| Birthday | 18 October 1961 (46) |
| Sign | Libra |
| Birthplace | New Orleans, Louisiana, USA |
Biography
Marsalis was born in New Orleans, the second of six sons of pianist Ellis Marsalis and his wife Dolores. His older brother is Branford Marsalis, who plays tenor and soprano saxophone. His brother Delfeayo plays trombone; and the youngest brother, Jason, plays drums. Marsalis began studying trumpet seriously at age 12. At age 14, he performed Haydn's Trumpet Concerto with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra and at 18 moved to New York City to attend the Juilliard School of Music. In 1980, he became a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. After signing a contract with Columbia Records, Marsalis released a self-titled debut album in 1982. In 1984, he won both jazz and classical Grammy awards, by which time he had become internationally known. (Southern 571)
In 1987, Marsalis helped found the Jazz at the Lincoln Center program, and is still its artistic director. The program begam as a weeklong classic jazz series and was fully established in 1991. The department became an independent organiztion—Jazz at Lincoln Center&mdashon July 1], 1996. The organization has developed its own board of directors, repertory company and a Classical Jazz Orchestra. Marsalis told the Amsterdam News:
"We are proud to take our place among the other outstanding organizations in the Lincoln Center family. The action places the uniquely American legacy of swing and blues as a history to be valued, an artistic achievement that is on par with the most magnificent works of Western classical music." (Southern 575)
In 1997, Marsalis became the first jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize in music, for his jazz oratorio Blood on the Fields, which dealt with the subject of slavery. Marsalis also helped shape the 2000 television documentary Jazz by Ken Burns, contributing to its segments on pre-World War II acoustic jazz.
Music
The music of Marsalis was part of a movement during the early 1990s countering the perceived excesses of free, or "progressive," jazz. During this period, the styles of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker and early jazz masters were studied and revitalized. This reinterpretation of earlier music has helped preserve earlier traditions within the genre. Marsalis' musicianship, his command of jazz history and outspoken advocacy of the music brought him to the fore of this group of "Young Lions," as they'd come to be called, who sought to return jazz to its melodic, swing roots. Critics such as Tom Piazza of the New York Times felt that these young musicians were overhyped and the movement countered artistic progress. However, he and others believed the movement nonetheless would be the beginning of a new era in jazz. (Southern 573—574)
Marsalis producing both classical and jazz albums, pointed out the importance of the connection of the two genres; black classical composers of the 1980s–90s, like Marsalis, were Jazz musicians during their career. (Southern 576) The movement connecting jazz and classical had already began during the early twentieth century with Ravel, Debussy and most prominently Gershwin. Avant-garde and jazz composers have become sometimes indistinguishable as the former began to use jazz tonalities and jazz drew upon the serial techniques and other elements of the classicists with the most important emphasis in both being the impovisational or quasi-improvisational style. In a 1990 Time magazine interview on the subject, Marsalis provided his insights:
"Jazz is the primary art form....When it's played properly, it shows you how the individual can negotiate the greatest amont of personal freedom and put it humbly at the service of a group connection" (Southern 577)