Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center
On the train to work this morning, packed shoulder to shoulder with other commuters, I found Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers’s “Live at Montreux and North Sea” on my Spotify app. Why? Because, as far as I can tell, it’s the first record to include a young Wynton Marsalis. (I’m actually listening to it as I type this.)
Marsalis is the second son of Ellis Marsalis, who was a piano teacher and jazz musician in New Orleans. (Ellis’s list of students is a who’s-who of New Orleans, including a young Harry Connick Jr. Wynton’s list of brothers is also a who’s-who of jazz musicians, though as a sax player I’m partial to Branford. Even if you don’t listen to jazz, you may have heard Branford on early Sting albums or in later Grateful Dead performances.)
Wynton is a critical voice in jazz, not only a talented trumpet player, but an ambassador of the art form. He was the go-to talking head in Ken Burns’s Jazz. He’s led or appeared on more than 100 albums. And in 1987, he founded what has become Jazz at Lincoln Center. In the ensuing 40 years, he has stayed with Jazz at Lincoln Center as its artistic and managing director.
Last week, Jazz at Lincoln Center announced that, after 40 years, Wynton would be stepping down. He will continue as artistic director until next year, then spend a year in an advisory role. He will remain on the board, however, “in perpetuity.”
Jazz at Lincoln Center is an enormous nonprofit. According to its 2023 Form 990, it had revenue that year of $44 million, split fairly evenly between contributions and grants on the one hand and program service revenue on the other. On top of that, it has net assets worth more than $220 million. (That’s not bad for an art form that accounts for less than 1% of music streaming in the U.S.)
Wynton isn’t stepping down in the midst of any type of scandal; he’s stepping down because he’s been at it a long time and because he believes this is a propitious to find a new generation of leadership; the announcement gives the organization time to identify someone to take over his role.
It will be interesting to watch the transition. A lot of the success of Jazz at Lincoln Center is built on Wynton’s charisma, drive, and musical taste. Will its roots allow it to flourish outside of his shadow? I suspect we’ll learn that the answer is yes, but time will tell.
