The jazz and classical musical heavyweight passes his baton after this year.

A quick survey of the Marsalis family suggests that music itself can coalesce into human form and walk around like everybody else. Ellis Marsalis, the patriarch, emerged as a classical and jazz piano virtuoso, with his sons Branford, Wynton, Delfeayo, and Jason taking up saxophone, trumpet, trombone, and drums, respectively. The boys became the walking embodiments of the New Orleans jazz that surrounded them as children, blossoming into their full-blown musical genius early and heading out into the world. 

Wynton Marsalis, in particular, took the world by surprise with his mastery of both classical music and jazz when he was barely out of his teens. In 1983, at the ripe old age of 22, Wynton landed both the GRAMMY Award® for “Best Classical Soloist with an Orchestra” and the GRAMMY for “Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist.” 

He was the first person ever to win both classical and jazz awards in the same year. 

Then, he turned around and pulled the same feat at the 1984 GRAMMY Awards.

 

Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center

 

Followers of Wynton’s career know he never chased the spotlight or fame. For him, the passionate chase was always after the music. Brahms or Bird, Tchaikovsky or ‘Trane, it didn’t matter. Wherever the masters transcended, Wynton studied them, their moment in history, the music influences that came before and after. Then he took that knowledge back to his neighborhood, back to the generation behind him, and he taught. He practiced. He composed and produced. 

In 1984, when pop music reigned with synthesizers, electronic drum kits, and MTV, Wynton was pulling public attention to jazz. His devotion to the art form as a composer, interpreter, performer, student, and teacher earned him—at a mere 26 years old—the title of Artistic Director of a brand-new summer concert series called “Classical Jazz at Lincoln Center.”  

Under Wynton’s leadership, the summer concert series grew into a program that grew into a department that eventually became Jazz at Lincoln Center, a constituent of Lincoln Center equally as important—and as internationally well-regarded—as The New York Philharmonic.  

For 40 years, Jazz at Lincoln Center thrived under the artistic and managing direction of Wynton Marsalis. In January of this year, he announced it was time for him to step down from JLCO and pass the baton to the next generation of jazz musicians. In 2027, he’ll officially step down to help find the next leader of JLCO.

 

 

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis at the Peace Center

 

So, what this means is that his appearance here on April 20 will be part of his final tour in his tenure as the founder, steward, and champion of this legendary jazz orchestra. If you love and respect music of any kind, this concert will be part of American musical history. And you only get this one chance to see Wynton Marsalis with the JLCO orchestra in Greenville before a new era begins. 

Wynton is revered the world over for his musicianship, scholarship, and larger-than-life personality. Part poet, part prophet, part king of swing, part classical composer, part New Orleans native son and New York jazz superstar, Wynton’s mere presence crackles with ebullience of live music. There’s something about his frequency, the tone of how he carries himself, trumpet in hand, that ... swings. It makes space for all that jazz music is and can be. He never hesitates to step to the back of the stage to let all the other musicians shine. He’s a one-of-a-kind legend, and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  

Sit with the JLCO and Wynton Marsalis when they heat up the Peace Concert Hall on April 20. 

Get your tickets now.