All That Jazz

As an undergraduate student at Utah State University I had the wonderful priveledge of watching the genius of Wynton Marsalis in person. I never really appreciated jazz until then but after that performance I was hooked for life. He was of course a natural choice for our family as we embarked on our study of this wonderful music. Here are a few fun facts about his life.

1. He plays the trumpet.



2. He is considered a classical virtuoso and a virtuoso erudite of jazz.



3. Al Hirt (I love him too) gave Wynton his first trumpet when he was just 6 yrs old.



4. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1997.



5. He has won 9 Grammy Awards.



6. He has played with jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Herbie Hancock and more.



7. He is also renowned for his classical compositions.



8. Wynton recorded the Haydn, Hummel and Leopold Mozart trumpet concertos at the age of 21 and went on to record 10 additional classical records, all to critical acclaim. He has performed with leading orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and the Czech National Orchestra. (WM.org)



9. He is a UN Messenger of Peace, has been honored with the National Medal of Arts and the French Legion of Honor.



10. An unbelievable to me he is only 8 and 3/4 years my senior.

Take note to the music playing on my blog...you will be hooked too!