Jazz Legend Wynton Marsalis Returns to the Lied With the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra

 A nine-time GRAMMY® winner and the first jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize, Wynton Marsalis has led the 15-piece Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra since 1988. The group simultaneously honors the rich heritage of jazz by performing works by Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, and more while also presenting a stunning variety of new works and fresh arrangements. Marsalis is a musical master and Lied Center audience favorite, having been part of multiple anniversary seasons at the Lied. 

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis will perform at the Lied Center on Sunday, October 22 at 4:00pm. Tickets are available now at liedcenter.org, (402) 472-4747, and the Lied Center box office. 

Wynton Marsalis (Music Director, Trumpet) is the Managing and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1961 to a musical family, Mr. Marsalis was gifted his first trumpet at age 6 by Al Hirt. By 8, he began playing in the famed Fairview Baptist Church Band led by Danny Barker. Yet it was not until he turned 12 that Marsalis began his formal training on the trumpet. Subsequently, Wynton began performing in bands all over the city, from the New Orleans Philharmonic and New Orleans Youth Orchestra to a funk band called the Creators. His passion for music rapidly escalated. As a young teenager fresh out of high school, Wynton moved to New York City in 1979 to attend The Juilliard School to study classical music. Once there, however, he found that jazz was calling him. His career quickly launched when he traded Juilliard for Art Blakey’s band, The Jazz Messengers. By 19, Wynton hit the road with his own band and has been touring the world ever since. From 1981 to date, Wynton has performed 4,777 concerts in 849 distinct cities and 64 countries around the world. Mr. Marsalis made his recording debut as a leader in 1982 and has since recorded 110 jazz and classical albums, four alternative records, and released five DVDs. In total, he has recorded 1,539 songs at the time of this writing. Marsalis is the winner of 9 GRAMMY Awards, and his oratorio Blood on the Fields was the first jazz composition to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. He’s the only musician to win a GRAMMY Award in two categories, jazz and classical, during the same year (1983, 1984).

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