Wynton Marsalis

Wynton Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter and composer. He is among the most prominent jazz musicians of the modern era, and one of the best-known instrumentalists in classical music. As an African-American, Wynton Marsalis has been forthright in addressing matters of race.

Music

The music of Marsalis was part of a movement during the early 1990s countering the perceived excesses of free jazz and fusion. 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.

Related Topics:
1990s - Free jazz - Fusion - Louis Armstrong - Duke Ellington - Charlie Parker

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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 more 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)

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Marsalis' strongly held views regarding the roots of jazz and its development have generated some negative appraisals from jazz critics and fellow musicians: Well-known critic Scott Yanow praises Marsalis's talent, but has questioned his "selective knowledge of jazz history (considering post-1965 avant-garde playing to be outside of jazz and 1970s fusion to be barren)."http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3e8n1vk8zzua~T1 Trumpeter Lester Bowie opined of Marsalis' traditionalism, "If you retread what's gone before, even if it sounds like jazz, it could be anathema to the spirit of jazz," http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/features/story/0%2C11710%2C881770%2C00.html while Miles Davis stated that Marsalis was "a nice young man, only confused."http://beta.musicforamerica.org/node/view/21433

Related Topics:
Scott Yanow - Avant-garde - Fusion - Lester Bowie - Miles Davis

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Marsalis, by producing both classical and jazz albums, pointed out the importance of the connection of the two genres; some black classical composers of the 1980s?90s, like Marsalis, were jazz musicians during their career. (Southern 576) The movement connecting jazz and classical music 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 as 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:

Related Topics:
1980s - 90s - Time magazine

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"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)

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Downbeat magazine's online website says of Marsalis:

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For many, Wynton Marsalis saved pure jazz from a morass of pop fusion and noise. Others contend that the trumpeter instilled a regressive notion of the jazz tradition. This debate, not to mention his instrumental proficiency and compositional ambition, has made him one of the most prominent and controversial jazz musicians of the '80s and '90s. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wynton_Marsalis&action=submit~T

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