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Where Does Creativity Come From: Wynton Marsalis’ interview on Freakonomics (Ep. 355)
To learn more, we examine the early years of Ai Weiwei, Rosanne Cash, Elvis Costello, Maira Kalman, Wynton Marsalis, Jennifer Egan, and others. (Ep. 2 of the “How to Be Creative” series.) Keep reading »
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Sean Carroll’s Mindscape, Episode 12: Wynton Marsalis on Jazz, Time, and America
Jazz occupies a special place in the American cultural landscape. It’s played in elegant concert halls and run-down bars, and can feature esoteric harmonic experimentation or good old-fashioned foot-stomping swing. Nobody embodies the scope of modern jazz better than Wynton Marsalis. As a trumpet player, bandleader, composer, educator, and ambassador for the music, he has worked tirelessly to keep jazz vibrant and alive. In this bouncy conversation, we talk about various kinds of music, how they might relate to physics, and some of the greater challenges facing the United States today. Thanks to KentPresents for bringing us together. Keep reading »
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Behind the decision to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee
Last May, a crane removed a 16½ foot-tall bronze statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee from its perch 60 feet above New Orleans. The statue was one of four Confederate monuments the city’s mayor, Mitch Landrieu, had removed last year. “In a city that I represent that’s 67 percent African American, to have a young African-American girl pass by that statue and look at it every day, I ask myself, ‘Am I really preparing her for a really good future? Is she feeling like she’s getting lifted up by the government, or is she being put down?’” Landrieu tells Anderson Cooper this week on 60 Minutes. “I mean, I think the answer’s pretty clear.” Keep reading »
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Building the cathedral
In the fall of 2016, Wynton Marsalis spoke at an event in Manhattan commemorating the centennial of Albert Murray, the jazz historian, cultural critic and novelist who died in 2013 at age 97. Murray had been a longtime mentor to the trumpeter and composer, ever since he was an 18-year-old Juilliard student. Keep reading »
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Vision & Justice: Wynton Marsalis on Frank Stewart
For the “Vision & Justice” issue of Aperture, Wynton Marsalis, Ingrid Monson, Alicia Hall Moran, Jason Moran, and Somi reflect on photographs that represent moments in their lives. Here, Marsalis responds to Frank Stewart’s Calling the Indians Out. Keep reading »
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Wynton Marsalis on the Jazz Fest poster, touring & new record
Trumpet maestro Wynton Marsalis said he’s happy appear in the top center window of the 2016 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival poster “House of Swing,” surrounded by other members of his musical family. “Paul Rogers is the artist,” Marsalis said in a telephone conversation from New York. “I’ve known Paul for a long time and I love him.” Though, the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City said, autographing the edition of posters was a chore. Keep reading »
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For Wynton Marsalis’ 54th birthday an Essay-Interview Written on the Occasion of Blood on the Fields
For Wynton Marsalis’ 54th birthday, I’ll reclaim a piece that’s been on the internet since 2001 via the Jazz Journalist Association website. I put it together in 2005 at the instigation of Steve Cannon and Gathering of Tribes on the occasion of the premiere performance of Blood On The Fields. It contains an essay-review, followed by a long composite interview. Keep reading »
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Aspen Ideas Festival closes on a high note
The Greenwald Pavilion was nearly filled to capacity on Saturday as Aspen Ideas patrons watched Jon Batiste and Wynton Marsalis take the stage at the final discussion of the week-long festival. Keep reading »
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48 HOURS: THE WHOLE GRITTY CITY has been honored with the Christopher Award
Hosted by Wynton Marsalis, this poignant, feature length documentary is about the transformative power of music. It goes behind the scenes with three dedicated New Orleans marching band directors working to prepare students to march in Mardi Gras parades. But they accomplish much more as their students experience significant personal growth from being required to exhibit camaraderie, discipline, and endurance. Keep reading »
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Transcript: Wynton’s Keynote Address at Tulane University’s Commencement 2014
Here at home in New Orleans, we have a tradition of starting important gigs by calling out the names of legendary musicians from the past. In evoking the memory of legendary artists, this roll call inspires a higher level of performance. In 2007, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra went on tour with Odaadaa!, a group from Ghana led by master drummer Yacub Addy. Each concert started with a long roll call of distinguished ancestors chanted and spoken in Ga, their native tongue. At the end of the chant, Mr. Addy would say “Trah trah o manyaba.” Whereupon we would say Yow!
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