Equally accomplished at jazz and classical music, bandleader and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis was the first jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize.
The Early Years
Wynton Marsalis was born on October 18, 1961, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Musical roots run deep in his family; his father is jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis, and three of Wynton’s six brothers, Branford, Jason and Delfeo, are also professional musicians. By the time he was 12 years old, Wynton Marsalis was seriously studying the trumpet, making his professional debut just two years later with the New Orleans Philharmonic. Marsalis played in bands throughout high school; when he was 17, he became the youngest musician to study at Tanglewood’s Berkshire Music Center. At age 18, he began attending the Julliard School in New York City; while there, he also played gigs at local jazz clubs. He eventually attracted the attention of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers who invited him to join their group.
In 1980, Marsalis made his first recording with the Jazz Messengers, and in 1981, he recorded and toured with jazz legend Herbie Hancock. That same year, Marsalis signed a deal with Columbia Records and recorded his first jazz album with himself as bandleader. Marsalis’s contract with Columbia was unique in that it called for him to record both jazz and classical albums. “The History of Jazz” asserts that “[Wynton] Marsalis's rise to fame while barely out of his teens was an unprecedented event in the jazz world. No major jazz figure—not Ellington or Armstrong, Goodman or Gillespie—had become so famous, so fast."
The Early Years
Wynton Marsalis was born on October 18, 1961, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Musical roots run deep in his family; his father is jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis, and three of Wynton’s six brothers, Branford, Jason and Delfeo, are also professional musicians. By the time he was 12 years old, Wynton Marsalis was seriously studying the trumpet, making his professional debut just two years later with the New Orleans Philharmonic. Marsalis played in bands throughout high school; when he was 17, he became the youngest musician to study at Tanglewood’s Berkshire Music Center. At age 18, he began attending the Julliard School in New York City; while there, he also played gigs at local jazz clubs. He eventually attracted the attention of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers who invited him to join their group.
In 1980, Marsalis made his first recording with the Jazz Messengers, and in 1981, he recorded and toured with jazz legend Herbie Hancock. That same year, Marsalis signed a deal with Columbia Records and recorded his first jazz album with himself as bandleader. Marsalis’s contract with Columbia was unique in that it called for him to record both jazz and classical albums. “The History of Jazz” asserts that “[Wynton] Marsalis's rise to fame while barely out of his teens was an unprecedented event in the jazz world. No major jazz figure—not Ellington or Armstrong, Goodman or Gillespie—had become so famous, so fast."
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