Wynton Marsalis

Wynton Marsalis is, to me, the conscience of modern jazz. Born in New Orleans, he commands both the classical and jazz traditions with rare authority, and his nine Grammys plus that landmark 1997 Pulitzer for Blood on the Fields put him in a class of his own. But what moves me most is the mission behind the music: as artistic director at Jazz at Lincoln Center, he treats the form as living heritage to be taught and passed on. Plenty of trumpeters can dazzle technically; few shoulder a whole culture and carry it forward. His tone stays clean, warm and unmistakably honest.

Name (English)

Wynton Marsalis

Name (Japanese)

ウィントン・マルサリス

Reading

うぃんとん・まるさりす

Born

October 18, 1961 (age 64)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Libra / Ox

Origin

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Occupation

composer / jazz trumpeter / bandleader / conductor / classical trumpeter

High school

Benjamin Franklin High School

Awards & achievements

• James Parks Morton Interfaith Award
• 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Music
• 2017 Order of Friendship
• 2015 National Humanities Medal
• Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• 2009 honorary doctor of Harvard University
• 1994 honorary doctor of the University of Miami
• NEA Jazz Masters

• Official sitehttps://wyntonmarsalis.org
• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/wyntonmarsalis/
• Xhttps://x.com/wyntonmarsalis
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wynton%20Marsalis
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A3%E3%83%B3%E3%83%88%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BB%E3%83%9E%E3%83%AB%E3%82%B5%E3%83%AA%E3%82%B9
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q273076

Tags

• Louisiana
• composer
• jazz trumpeter
• bandleader

Last updated

2026-06-17

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.