BT River of Music: Wynton Marsalis interview for London 2012

Acclaimed trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and his elite big-band jazz players will be a highlight on the Americas stage at BT River of Music, writes Adam Sweeting.

On his own terms: Wynton Marsalis at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London Photo: Getty Images/David Redfern

By Adam Sweeting

The trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra are regular visitors to Britain, and each appearance whets our appetite for more. Marsalis and his elite big-band jazz players will be a highlight on the Americas stage at the Tower of London, a gig that fits neatly with their current season at the Barbican.

Listeners can expect a feast of swing and bop by some of the great jazz composers, including Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie, as well as new compositions by band-members and Marsalis himself. They will also be joined by a trio of young British musicians from the East London Creative Jazz Orchestra.

Marsalis is a copper-bottomed prodigy in several departments. Brought up in the great tradition of New Orleans jazz by his father, Ellis, who sired a band’s worth of musicians, including Wynton’s brothers Branford, Jason and Delfeayo, he cut his teeth playing with such veterans as Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins and Herbie Hancock before forming his own combo in 1981. Meanwhile he carved himself a parallel career as a Grammy-winning classical trumpeter, performing with the world’s top orchestras and conductors. He’s a prolific composer, too, and has written ballet scores, the dramatic oratorio Blood on the Fields (which won him the Pulitzer Prize), and the multi-layered epic All Rise, written for big band, gospel choir and symphony orchestra.

Yet Marsalis may be remembered equally for his efforts in the social and educational spheres. He contributes to numerous medical, social and relief organisations, and raised $3 million with a charity concert to assist his stricken home city of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. His work with Jazz at Lincoln Center has transcended mere musicianship to become a crusade to guarantee jazz’s status as a great American art form, fit to stand toe to toe with classical music or literature.