Acclaimed trumpeter Wynton Marsalis keeps jazz alive and in Turlock

Wynton Marsalis might not be one to blow his own horn. But to increase an appreciation of -- and audience for -- jazz music, his colleagues are happy to do it for him. "He's inspiring, and that's not only because he's such a great trumpet player and committed to playing his best, but because he approaches the music and everything around him with no ego," said composer/musician Ted Nash, who will perform with Marsalis on Thursday in Turlock as a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. "He embraces everybody. He loves to see that people are interested in music." Trumpeter Marsalis is one of the country's most respected jazz musicians and the recipient of the first Pulitzer Prize in Music. He has recorded more than 30 albums, earned nine Grammy Awards and collaborated with such diverse artists as country singer Willie Nelson and filmmaker Ken Burns. He performed last week for presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and other dignitaries at a memorial service honoring famed CBS newsman Walter Cronkite.

The Turlock concert will feature a variety of jazz, performed by 15 top soloists and ensemble players. The New York City-based Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is part of a program designed to inspire and increase the audience for jazz. The group will play everything from lesser-known works by Duke Ellington like "The Tattooed Bride" to recent pieces written for the band by Marsalis and Nash. One of Nash's pieces that will be included is "Portrait in Seven Shades," dedicated to seven painters. "I think what people really enjoy is to see and hear different aspects of jazz music," Nash, who performs saxophone, clarinet and flute in the group, said in a phone interview from a tour stop in Banff, Canada. Jazz musicians are working harder to draw more listeners as their fan base has declined. "We're losing a lot of our audience," Nash said. "People who have been listening to jazz for the last 30 or 40 years are getting old or dying. They're not going out to concerts."

At the same time, he said he is optimistic about the future. He is heartened by the number of young people he sees in the auditorium seats at the orchestra's shows. Nash thinks the key to building interest is to expose kids to the music early and to get people of all ages out to live shows. Just listening to recordings doesn't cut it. He said many of his friends who were jazz skeptics turned around when they came to a concert. "People say, 'Oh, my God, I had no idea it was so full of expression and interesting,'
Lisa Millegan

From The Modesto Bee, Calif.
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