Wynton Marsalis reflects on his musical legacy, jazz’s connection to freedom, and his formation as an artist
Wynton Marsalis made history when he became the first musician to win Grammy Awards in both the classical and jazz categories in the same year. He talks about jazz’s special connection to freedom and how his father’s relationship with music influenced his approach to the music world. As legendary musician Wynton Marsalis brings his unique blend of classical and jazz to audiences, he’s also reflecting on history. During an appearance on “Influential with Katty Kay,” Marsalis says that every time he plays, he realizes he’s bringing his family’s legacy to the fore. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1961, Marsalis was surrounded by performers from an early age. His father, Ellis Marsalis Jr., was a jazz pianist and his mother, Dolores Marsalis, was a singer.
“I didn’t want to be famous. I wanted to learn how to play. My goal was my father and all the musicians I respected and loved,” Marsalis says of Kay, as he shows her the trumpet and plays her a few verses.
He tells Kay that he initially didn’t want to play the instrument that would make him famous. “I didn’t want to play the trumpet because I didn’t want to have that ring around my lips. I thought girls wouldn’t kiss me.” As the first and still only musician to win Grammys in both the classical and jazz categories in the same year, Marsalis is open about the ways he crossed genres to create something truly his own. After beginning his most serious relationship with music at age 12, he would go on to become the only black musician in the New Orleans Civic Orchestra and the New Orleans Philharmonic.
This success was unexpected for someone who had seen his father struggle for success. He was unsure if he had the skills to compete with professional musicians.
“At first, I went back and reevaluated what I could do. Am I good enough to play jazz? That’s what I wanted to play. I wanted to be a jazz musician,” Marsalis says. When he joined the Julliard School of Music at age 17, he was surrounded by a new group of performers and introduced to new styles of music. During this period, he also developed a passion for social justice. “I was shaped and integrated into schools where you weren’t necessarily wanted. You weren’t wanted,” he says. “It was post-Civil War. So, I was talking about things that people didn’t talk about, and I was very serious about those things.” Later, he signed a contract with Columbia Records, after shifting his focus from classical music to jazz—thanks in part to Herbie Hancock and the Art Blakey band in Europe. Throughout this period, he felt jazz in every experience he had.
“Anything that has a harmonic progression and a melody, you can hear jazz,” he says. Marsalis notes that, unlike other genres, jazz has musicians working together without letting one voice dominate. They have to find a balance and play together. “You don’t like what someone is doing because they don’t understand what they’re doing. Sometimes, you don’t like it because you want to control everything. That’s not what our music is about. We play together,” he says. That’s also the connection he sees between jazz and social justice. When everyone is committed to a common cause, whether it’s racial equality or musical harmony.
