Wynton Marsalis: The Private Man Behind The Music

Ebony, August, 1999 by Lynn Norment

No doubt, a woman would have to be exceptional to hold Marsalis' attention. And she would have to understand that his music is his life, his first love. This year alone he will release 15 recordings, eight in a series titled "Swinging Into The 21st." The set will span the music of Thelonious Monk and Jelly Roll Morton (two new "standards collections"), classical, big-band works, ballets, music composed for TV and movie projects, and the Marciac Suite, which Marsalis wrote for the annual Marciac Jazz Festival in France. Every August he visits the small hamlet, his "second home," to perform and teach master classes. The recordings draw inspiration from around the world--the U.S., France, China, Brazil, Cuba--and from a broad spectrum of musical genres, including blues, tango and bossa nova. Last spring, Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra released a tribute to Duke Ellington. In December he will release a six-CD set of live performances at New York's Village Vanguard.

"The 20th century was a century of communication," he says. "You had the tools of communication--the telephone, radio, TV, and finally the computer, the greatest, most powerful tool of communication we've seen so fan I think the issue in the 21st century is going to be integration ... Music is an ultimate form of communication because it's so abstract. It also stretches across cultural boundaries."

In the next millennium, more music genres will be integrated, he says, recalling how much he enjoyed jamming with local musicians at a party in Brazil. Another example of this "integration" is the blues, which he calls the universal coefficient. "If you go through the blues, you can find a little something in the roots of all people," he says. The blues, he adds, is the common thread that runs through all of his music.

The second of six sons born to Ellis and Dolores Marsalis, Wynton has been exposed to music all of his life. His father is an accomplished pianist. Three of his brothers also are in the music business: saxophonist Branford, trombonist Delfeayo (who has produced several of Wynton's recordings) and drummer Jason (who plays with pianist Marcus Roberts). Wynton began studying the trumpet seriously at age 12, and in high school, he performed with jazz, funk and marching bands, and with classical orchestras. In 1980, after moving to New York to attend the prestigious Juilliard School, he joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and signed with Columbia Records. Over the years, he has sold almost 8 million records worldwide. That is quite a feat for a jazz artist.

While his days are filled with meetings, rehearsals and lectures, he devotes late-night hours to his writing. "But it's not really work. The creative process, it possesses you," he explains. "You're compelled to do it. It's almost like being addicted to something. It comes to you. I wake up in the morning and I have a lot of energy. I get ideas and stuff I guess when I'm sleeping."

This year, Marsalis says he will work exceptionally hard. "I want to give thanks to God for giving me the opportunity to have a voice and be able to express it; I'm fortunate to be out there and have people come to hear me play and like my music. I want to demonstrate my gratitude by really trying to deal with music on a very serious level."