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Wynton Marsalis
Composer, Actor, Producer, Additional CreditsBorn October 18, 1961 (64 years)
Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, and music instructor, who is currently the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has been active in promoting classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Awards, and his oratorio Blood on the Fields was the first jazz composition to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Marsalis is the only musician to have won a Grammy Award in both jazz and classical categories in the same year.
Marsalis was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on October 18, 1961, and grew up in the suburb of Kenner. He is the second of six sons born to Dolores Ferdinand Marsalis and Ellis Marsalis Jr., a pianist and music teacher. He was named after jazz pianist Wynton Kelly. Branford Marsalis is his older brother and Jason Marsalis and Delfeayo Marsalis are younger. All three are jazz musicians. While sitting at a table with trumpeters Al Hirt, Miles Davis, and Clark Terry, his father jokingly suggested that he might as well get Wynton a trumpet, too. Hirt volunteered to give him one, so at the age of six Marsalis received his first trumpet.
Although he owned a trumpet when he was six, he did not practice much until he was 12. He attended Benjamin Franklin High School and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. He studied classical music at school and jazz at home with his father. He played in funk bands and a marching band led by Danny Barker. He performed on trumpet publicly as the only black musician in the New Orleans Civic Orchestra. After winning a music contest at fourteen, he performed Joseph Haydn's trumpet concerto with the New Orleans Philharmonic. Two years later he performed Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major by Bach. At seventeen, he was one of the youngest musicians admitted to Tanglewood Music Center. Marsalis applied to only two music colleges, the Juilliard School and Northwestern University. He was accepted to both schools and chose to attend the former.
In 1979, he moved to New York City to attend the Juilliard School for a Bachelor of Music in trumpet performance, leaving in 1981 without earning a degree. He intended to pursue a career in classical music. In 1980, he toured Europe as a member of the Art Blakey band, becoming a member of The Jazz Messengers and remaining with Blakey until 1982. He changed his mind about his career and turned to jazz. He has said that years of playing with Blakey influenced his decision. He recorded for the first time with Blakey and one year later he went on tour with Herbie Hancock. After signing a contract with Columbia, he recorded his first solo album. In 1982, he established a quintet with his brother Branford Marsalis, Kenny Kirkland, Charnett Moffett, and Jeff "Tain" Watts. When Branford and Kenny Kirkland left three years later to record and tour with Sting, Marsalis formed a quartet, this time with Marcus Roberts on piano, Robert Hurst on double bass, and Watts on drums. After a while, the band expanded to include Wessell Anderson, Wycliffe Gordon, Eric Reed, Herlin Riley, Reginald Veal, and Todd Williams. ...
Source: Article "Wynton Marsalis" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
Marsalis was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on October 18, 1961, and grew up in the suburb of Kenner. He is the second of six sons born to Dolores Ferdinand Marsalis and Ellis Marsalis Jr., a pianist and music teacher. He was named after jazz pianist Wynton Kelly. Branford Marsalis is his older brother and Jason Marsalis and Delfeayo Marsalis are younger. All three are jazz musicians. While sitting at a table with trumpeters Al Hirt, Miles Davis, and Clark Terry, his father jokingly suggested that he might as well get Wynton a trumpet, too. Hirt volunteered to give him one, so at the age of six Marsalis received his first trumpet.
Although he owned a trumpet when he was six, he did not practice much until he was 12. He attended Benjamin Franklin High School and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. He studied classical music at school and jazz at home with his father. He played in funk bands and a marching band led by Danny Barker. He performed on trumpet publicly as the only black musician in the New Orleans Civic Orchestra. After winning a music contest at fourteen, he performed Joseph Haydn's trumpet concerto with the New Orleans Philharmonic. Two years later he performed Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major by Bach. At seventeen, he was one of the youngest musicians admitted to Tanglewood Music Center. Marsalis applied to only two music colleges, the Juilliard School and Northwestern University. He was accepted to both schools and chose to attend the former.
In 1979, he moved to New York City to attend the Juilliard School for a Bachelor of Music in trumpet performance, leaving in 1981 without earning a degree. He intended to pursue a career in classical music. In 1980, he toured Europe as a member of the Art Blakey band, becoming a member of The Jazz Messengers and remaining with Blakey until 1982. He changed his mind about his career and turned to jazz. He has said that years of playing with Blakey influenced his decision. He recorded for the first time with Blakey and one year later he went on tour with Herbie Hancock. After signing a contract with Columbia, he recorded his first solo album. In 1982, he established a quintet with his brother Branford Marsalis, Kenny Kirkland, Charnett Moffett, and Jeff "Tain" Watts. When Branford and Kenny Kirkland left three years later to record and tour with Sting, Marsalis formed a quartet, this time with Marcus Roberts on piano, Robert Hurst on double bass, and Watts on drums. After a while, the band expanded to include Wessell Anderson, Wycliffe Gordon, Eric Reed, Herlin Riley, Reginald Veal, and Todd Williams. ...
Source: Article "Wynton Marsalis" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
Filmography
| 2025 | New Orleans: Soul of A City (TV Series) · as Self - Musician |
| 2023 | |
| 2023 | Willie Nelson & Family (TV Series) · as Self - Musician |
| 2022 | Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues · as Self |
| 2022 | Hargrove · as Self |
| 2022 | Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story · as Self |
| 2020 | The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2020 | A World Without Beethoven? · as Self |
| 2020 | GMA3: What You Need to Know (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2020 | Find Your Groove · as Self |
| 2019 | Up from the Streets: New Orleans: The City of Music · as Self - Musician |
| 2019 | Country Music (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2018 | The Great American Read (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2018 | Mister Rogers: It's You I Like · as Self |
| 2017 | Ken Burns: America's Storyteller · as Self - Musician |
| 2016 | The Pulitzer at 100 · as Self - Composer |
| 2016 | Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary · as Self - Musician |
| 2016 | |
| 2016 | Geordie Jazz Man · as Self |
| 2015 | Song of Lahore · as Self |
| 2015 | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (TV Series) · as Self - Musical Guest |
| 2014 | Brownie Speaks · as Self |
| 2013 | VA - Jazz Intermezzo Vol.1 · as Self (archive Footage) |
| 2012 | Urgant Show (TV Series) · as Self - Guest |
| 2012 | CBS Mornings (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2012 | CBS Mornings (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2011 | |
| 2010 | |
| 2009 | Talk Stoop (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2008 | D.L. Hughley Breaks the News (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2008 | |
| 2008 | Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans · as Self - Interviewee / Self - Musician |
| 2008 | 4Chosen: The Documentary · as Self |
| 2007 | Soundies: A Musical History Hosted by Michael Feinstein · as Self - Artistic Director, Jazz At Lincoln Center |
| 2006 | Live from Abbey Road: Best of Season 1 · as Self |
| 2006 | When The Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2005 | The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts · as Self - Performer |
| 2005 | Iconoclasts (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2005 | The Colbert Report (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2005 | A Concert for Hurricane Relief · as Self |
| 2004 | The N Word · as Self |
| 2004 | Tavis Smiley (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2003 | Anderson Cooper 360° (TV Series) · as Self - Managing And Artistic Director For Jazz At Lincoln Center |
| 2003 | Real Time with Bill Maher (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2003 | Tribeca Film Festival Presents · as Self |
| 2002 | It's Black Entertainment · as Self |
| 2001 | Walk on By: The Story of Popular Song (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2001 | Jazz (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2000 | Soul Food (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1999 | The 41st Annual Grammy Awards · as Self |
| 1999 | |
| 1998 | Charles Mingus: Triumph of the Underdog · as Self |
| 1998 | Essence Awards · as Self |
| 1997 | The Chris Rock Show (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1996 | |
| 1996 | The Daily Show (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1995 | Masters of American Music (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1993 | 1993 Essence Awards · as Self |
| 1992 | Late Show with David Letterman (TV Series) · as Self - Musical Guest |
| 1992 | The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1991 | Charlie Rose (TV Series) · as Self - Guest |
| 1990 | Tune in Tomorrow... · as Self - The Wynton Marsalis Band |
| 1990 | Sing Yourself Silly! · as Self (archive Footage) |
| 1989 | The 3rd Annual Soul Train Music Awards · as Self |
| 1989 | The Arsenio Hall Show (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1988 | Sesame Street, Special · as Self |
| 1988 | Art Blakey: The Jazz Messenger · as Self |
| 1986 | Super Bowl XX · as Self - National Anthem Performer |
| 1985 | American Masters (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1980 | Lou Rawls Parade of Stars (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1979 | CBS Sunday Morning With Jane Pauley (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1978 | The South Bank Show (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1976 | Live from Lincoln Center (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1975 | Saturday Night Live (TV Series) · as Self - Musical Guest |
| 1975 | Arena (1975) (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1971 | Great Performances (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1969 | Sesame Street (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1968 | 60 Minutes (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1968 | Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1966 | The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1962 | The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1952 | Today (TV Series) · as Self |