The most famous
jazz musician since 1980,
Wynton Marsalis made a major impact on
jazz almost from the start. In the early '80s, it was major news that a young and very talented black musician would choose to make a living playing acoustic
jazz rather than
fusion,
funk, or
R&B.
Marsalis' arrival on the scene started the "Young Lions" movement and resulted in major labels (most of whom had shown no interest in
jazz during the previous decade) suddenly signing and promoting young players.
There had been a major shortage of new trumpeters since 1970, but
Marsalis' sudden prominence inspired an entire new crop of brass players. The music of the mid-'60s
Miles Davis Quintet had been somewhat overshadowed when it was new, but
Marsalis' quintet focused on extending the group's legacy and soon other "Young Lion" units were using
Davis' late acoustic work as their starting point.
During his career,
Marsalis has managed to be a controversial figure despite his obvious abilities. His selective knowledge of
jazz history (considering post-1965
avant-garde playing to be outside of
jazz and 1970s
fusion to be barren) is unfortunately influenced by the somewhat eccentric beliefs of Stanley Crouch, and his hiring policies as musical director of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra led to exaggerated charges of ageism and racism from local writers. However, more than balancing all of this out is
Marsalis' inspiring work with youngsters, many of whom he has introduced to
jazz; a few young musicians, such as
Roy Hargrove, have been directly helped by
Marsalis.
Marsalis' trumpet playing has been both overcriticized and (at least early on) overpraised. When he first arrived on the scene with the Jazz Messengers, his original inspiration was
Freddie Hubbard. However, by the time he began leading his own group,
Marsalis often sounded very close to
Miles Davis (particularly when holding a long tone), although a version of
Davis with virtuosic technique. He was so widely praised by the
jazz press at the time (due to their relief that the future of
jazz finally seemed safe) that there was an inevitable backlash.
Marsalis' sometimes inaccurate statements about
jazz of the 1970s and the
avant-garde in general made some observers angry, and his rather derivative tone at the time made it seem as if there was always going to have to be an asterisk by his name when evaluating his talents. Some listeners formed permanent impressions of
Marsalis as a
Miles Davis imitator, but they failed to take into account that he was still improving and developing. With the 1990 recording Tune in Tomorrow,
Marsalis at last sounded like himself. He had found his own voice by exploring earlier styles of
jazz (such as
Louis Armstrong's playing), mastering the wah-wah mute, and studying
Duke Ellington. From that point on, even when playing a
Miles Davis standard,
Marsalis has had his own sound and has finally taken his place as one of
jazz's greats.
The son of pianist Ellis Marsalis, the younger brother of
Branford and the older brother of Delfeayo and Jason (the Marsalis clan as a whole can be accurately called "The First Family of Jazz"),
Wynton (who was named after pianist Wynton Kelly) received his first trumpet at age six from Ellis' employer,
Al Hirt. He studied both
classical and
jazz and played in local marching bands,
funk groups, and
classical orchestras.
Marsalis played first trumpet in the New Orleans Civic Orchestra while in high school. He went to Juilliard when he was 18 and in 1980 he made his first recordings with
the Art Blakey Big Band and joined the Jazz Messengers.
By 1981, the young trumpeter was the talk of the
jazz world. He toured with
Herbie Hancock (a double LP resulted), continued working with
Blakey, signed with Columbia, and recorded his first album as a leader. In 1982,
Marsalis not only formed his own quintet (featuring brother
Branford and soon
Kenny Kirkland, Charnett Moffett, and Jeff "Tain" Watts) but recorded his first
classical album; he was immediately ranked as one of the top
classical trumpeters of all time. His quintet with
Branford lasted until late 1985, although a rift developed between the brothers (fortunately temporary) when
Branford finally quit the band to tour with
Sting's pop group. By that time
Wynton was a superstar, winning a countless number of awards and polls.
Marsalis' next group featured pianist Marcus Roberts, bassist Robert Hurst, and drummer
Watts. Over time the group grew to become a four-horn septet with trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, altoist Wes Anderson, Todd Williams on tenor, bassist Reginald Veal, drummer Herlin Riley, and (by the early '90s) pianist
Eric Reed.
Marsalis really developed his writing during this era (being influenced by
Duke Ellington) and the septet proved to be a perfect outlet for his arranging. Although
Marsalis broke up the band by 1995, many of the musicians still appear in his special projects or with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.
In 1997,
Marsalis' marathon Blood on the Fields (which was released as a three-CD set) became the first
jazz-based work to win a Pulitzer Prize. Standard Time, Vol. 5: The Midnight Blues followed a year later. With the passing of so many
jazz giants,
Marsalis' importance (as a trumpeter, leader, writer, and spokesman for
jazz) continued to grow. Standard Time, Vol. 4: Marsalis Plays Monk followed in 1999 to coincide with the popular PBS special. Then, as if eight proper recordings in 1999 weren't enough, Columbia and
Marsalis released an amazingly affordable seven-disc set entitled Live at the Village Vanguard. Mid-2000 saw the release of
Marciac Suite and Goin' Down Home. Two years later,
Marsalis celebrated the
blues on All Rise. Next up was his first album for Blue Note,
The Magic Hour, an album of original material released early in 2004. Later that year, the label released Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson,
Marsalis'
soundtrack to a Ken Burns documentary.
Marsalis' second studio effort for Blue Note, the politically and socially aware
From the Plantation to the Penitentiary, followed in 2007. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
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