'They took me in like I was their son': Wynton Marsalis on jazz's great tradition

At the end of his performance at the Barbican with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis made a little speech. The next piece, he announced, was a number that Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers used to play. Marsalis then recalled how he himself had played with the Jazz Messengers as an 18-year-old trumpet prodigy. He described how much he had learned from the drummer, who was then approaching 60, and especially about ‘the sacrifices you have to make to play this music’. Then the band roared into ‘Free for All’ by Wayne Shorter.

A couple of days before, I had met Marsalis for a chat — it wasn’t precisely an interview because I’ve interviewed him so many times over the years we’ve turned into friends. One of the things we talked about was the difficulty of playing jazz — especially in front of an audience. ‘The pressure of playing in public makes it all for real, I love the pressure of it. That’s what makes it fun. You can’t imitate that in a practice room. If you have nerves you have to learn to embrace it.’

Doing anything in public holds its fears. According to a survey, the average member of the British public is slightly more frightened of making a speech in front of an audience than they are of their own death. Marsalis was amused by this, but contended that performing music is yet more daunting. ‘I was having a conversation with Condoleezza Rice, who plays classical music on the piano. She said sometimes when she is going to give a speech, if she is nervous, she says to herself, “Thank the good Lord I’m not playing!”’