Far From Winded

September 26, 2003

by Maria Howell
Vox Magazine
March 17, 2005

Wynton Marsalis blows Columbia away

Conveying the complexities of American society through the simplicity of three trumpet keys is how Wynton Marsalis continues to transcend the boundaries of jazz. After more than 20 years and 44 CDs, this master of the horn will perform in Columbia for the second time.

Marsalis will be playing the trumpet with his standard quartet, which includes a piano, bass and drums. Although he typically performs American jazz, his music is influenced by classical, swing, soul and blues. “His music is what we call straight up the middle,” says Jon Poses, executive director of the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series. “It is very accessible on one hand and very challenging on the other hand.”

His music is accessible because it leaps off the stage and into the audience, says Aaron Moe, director of MU Jazz Performance Studies. Moe explains there is a sixth sense that develops among musicians who have played together for a long time. The sense is an interconnectedness that creates an explosion of energy. Whether performing with his quartet or the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Marsalis is able to retain the intimate intensity through his relationships with the members.

“The groove is going to be absolutely intense, and regardless of what kind of music you listen to, you are going to feel that,” Moe says. “That will leave an impression.” Although Marsalis is one of jazz’s biggest icons, his performance and his music in general appeal to more than just the jazz audience. The technical prowess that Marsalis displays attracts fans of classical music. Now 44, Marsalis also has many fans who have followed his music since his arrival to the industry in 1982. His background as a child prodigy, with performances beginning at age 8, attracts a younger crowd. “There are a lot of people in their late teens and 20s that appreciate what he has done because he has done it as a pretty young person,” Poses says.

Although many Columbians have seen Marsalis perform, most recently when he played at Jesse Auditorium two years ago, Moe knows Marsalis’ music more intimately than most. In 2002, while Moe was studying jazz at Northern Illinois University, he was asked to perform in Chicago in a FOX Christmas special featuring Marsalis. Moe was chosen as a stand-in clarinet player. Still a student and playing the Christmas set for the first time, Moe remembers trying not to mess up. During the rehearsal, Marsalis told him, “Don’t hold back at the expense of losing musicality.” By the time they got on stage, Moe wasn’t nervous anymore. He describes the experience as “the best five minutes I have ever had.”

Although Marsalis has remained true to jazz, his music has grown in recent years. Much of the development is the result of revisiting his New Orleans youth and the principles of the blues. Moe says the progression comes when a musician is experienced enough to see beyond the simplicity of the fundamental lessons. For Marsalis, this step has eliminated his dependence on technicality and replaced it with depth in his work. His playing continues to be an original, recognizable sound.

The philosophy behind his music, however, has remained constant. “In music we celebrate the skills of the individual as well as the strength of the group,” Marsalis told Edutopia magazine last year. Through his work, he hopes to share this experience with others. As one of the most visible people in jazz, he is in the perfect position to do so, Poses says.

Marsalis is now the Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, a jazz statesman and a U.N. Messenger of Peace. While maintaining these positions, he continues to write new music and tour. Over the years he has won numerous awards, including eight Grammys and the Grand Prix du Disque of France. In 1997 he became the first jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize in music, which he received for his epic recording “Blood on the Fields.”