Data Source

National Portrait Gallery

Exhibition Label

Born New Orleans, Louisiana

Jazz in America always seems to be on the verge of disappearing, but it stays alive, thanks to practitioners such as Wynton Marsalis. A musical prodigy, the New Orleans–born Marsalis combines the careers of virtuoso trumpet player, composer, and impresario in a way that emphasizes jazz’s all-embracing creativity. He went to New York’s famed Juilliard School in 1979 and played in clubs around town, joining Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Continuing to play, he also promoted the advancement of jazz, founding Lincoln Center’s jazz program in 1987 and appearing on television in both documentary and performance programming. Marsalis is not without his critics, who think that he has made jazz too conservative an art form. However, he has won nine Grammy Awards, as well as a Pulitzer Prize for music (1997).

Artist

Philippe Lévy-Stab, born 1967

Sitter

Wynton Marsalis, born 18 Oct 1961

Date

2004

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Philippe Levy-Stab

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Dimensions

Image: 20 x 20.2 cm (7 7/8 x 7 15/16")

Sheet : 30.3 x 23.5 cm (11 15/16 x 9 1/4")

Mat: 45.7 x 35.6 cm (18 x 14")

Type

Photograph

See more items in

National Portrait Gallery Collection

Object number

NPG.2004.132

Topic

Interior

Equipment\Sound Devices\Microphone

Home Furnishings\Drinking vessel\Cup

Wynton Marsalis: Male

Wynton Marsalis: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Composer

Wynton Marsalis: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Jazz

Wynton Marsalis: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Horn\Trumpet

Portrait

Place

France\Île-de-France\Ville de Paris, Départment de\Paris

Restrictions & Rights

© 2005 Philippe Levy-Stab