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Transcript form Wynton’s interview for Fox News Sunday
The holiday spirit alive and well in New Orleans. It’s been almost four months since Hurricane Katrina of ravaged the Gulf Coast. Now residents and businesses are slowly returning to New Orleans.
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Higher Ground CD reviewed by Washington Post
Hitting Katrina From Two Directions
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There are nearly 10 benefit albums with Hurricane Katrina on their minds, and doubtless more are coming. Bring ‘em on. In theory, at least, when it comes to raising relief funds through music, everyone wins. -
Wynton explains: What is New Orleans Jazz ?
Jazz for Young People: What is New Orleans Jazz?, hosted by Wynton Marsalis, will feature musicians performing and offering school age children the opportunity to learn about the birthplace of jazz.
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In this engaging narrative performance, Wynton stirs up the musical melting pot that gave us jazz. Everyone is invited to stomp, clap, and sing along to the polyphony of New Orleans jazz. -
Wynton wrote an introduction on a new book about Katrina
Hurricane Katrina: The Storm That Changed America is a collection of photographs and essays by the staff and editors of the respected news magazine, Time.
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The book is organized in a day-by-day chronology of the storm, from the time it swiped south Florida until its devastating landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi, and Time’s writers tell the story of the storm in their reports from the scene. -
New York Diarist: Strength in Swing
Immediately following the landing of Hurricane Katrina, I received hundreds of phone calls from all over the world. They offered sympathy and resources. I don’t get those phone calls now. The ones I receive now are rife with disgust at bureaucratic fumbling, with rage at an unspecified they who are in charge of everything from predicting which levees would break to choosing which people will return. They made it happen.
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35 Who Made a Difference: Wynton Marsalis
“We’re blues people. And blues never lets tragedy have the last word.” This is an utterly characteristic statement by Wynton Marsalis, the trumpeter, composer and jazz impresario. He spoke those words in a television interview shortly after Hurricane Katrina devastated his hometown of New Orleans. Within days he was playing in gigs to raise money for Katrina victims, including a huge benefit concert, “Higher Ground,” produced by Jazz At Lincoln Center, of which he is the artistic director. It has raised more than $2 million. Bob Dylan once remarked that a hero was “someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom.” By that measure, Marsalis is a hero bona fide.
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Combining Forces to Revive the Soul of New Orleans
Music is the soul of society, the heart of culture. So, at least, it was variously pronounced by the likes of Itzhak Perlman and Beverly Sills in the course of an evening devoted to bringing it back. “Bringing Back the Music” was the title of the New York Philharmonic’s joint benefit concert with and for the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra on Friday night at Avery Fisher Hall. New Orleans, of course, was the intended destination of this particular return: orchestral music in other American cities will have to continue to fend for itself.
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Listen to Wynton speaking at National Press Club 2005
Wynton spoke at a National Press Luncheon titled “Higher Ground: Hurricane Relief and Rebuilding in New Orleans.” He said that less should be focused on what “they” didn’t do, but what “we” could do to help the hurricane ravaged city. Mr. Marsalis also talked about the influence of jazz musicians and its roots in New Orleans on the social consciousness of Americans. Following his speech, Mr. Marsalis responded to questions and comments submitted by members of the audience.
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Wynton Marsalis to speak at National Press Club luncheon 2005
Wynton will speak October 20 at a National Press Club luncheon.
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The NPC luncheon will begin promptly at 12:30 p.m., with Wynton’s address starting just after 1 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session.
Advance reservations should be made by telephoning 202-662-7501. Cost of the luncheon is $16 for NPC members, $28 for their guests and $35 for general admission. -
Wynton and Dr. Ken Mask look to build libraries in the homes of hurricane Katrina victims
After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Dr. Ken Mask who runs the non-profit “Books To You” in New Orleans, turned to close friends and supporters, one being Wynton Marsalis to help restore the precious books that washed away in the Hurricane’s flood. Dr. Mask would like to do more than just restore books.
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