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Jazz is not just 'Well, man, this is what I feel like playing.' It's a very structured thing that comes down from a tradition and requires a lot of thought and study.

Wynton Marsalis

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Wynton Marsalis
Age: 63
Born: 1961
Born: October 18
Bandleader
Composer
Conductor
Jazz Musician
Trumpeter
New Orleans
Louisiana
Wynton Learson Marsalis
Men
Study
Like
Comes
Thought
Wells
Structured
Well
Requires
Feel
Jazz
Feels
Tradition
Thing
Playing

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Don't settle for style. Succeed in substance.
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What is deeper than respect and love? That’s what we felt: veneration.
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The reason why the music [jazz] is important is because it's an art form-an ancient art form-that takes in the mythology of our people.
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There really have only ever been a few people in each generation who step out, are willing to put themselves on the line, and risk everything for their beliefs.
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Jazz comes from our way of life, and because it's our national art form, it helps us to understand who we are.
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There is an idea that a mind is wasted on the arts unless it makes you good in math or science. There is some evidence that the arts might help you in math and science.
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To say that the Afro American created jazz doesn't mean anything bad about Anglo Americans, and I always teach my younger jazz musicians that at this point the entirety of the American tradition is your heritage, and you need to know it.
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Trumpet players are just belligerant, and cocky, and you know, just hard-headed.
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How great musicians demonstrate a mutual respect and trust on the bandstand can alter your outlook on the world and enrich every aspect of your life, understanding what it means to be a global citizen in the most modern sense.
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The rebuilding of New Orleans is an important point in the history of the United States.
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I try to find the core values that are so fundamental that they transcend ethnic identity. That doesn't mean I run from it. I embrace African-American culture and I love it and embrace it, but it is a part of a human identity. So I'm always trying to make a larger human statement.
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There was one thing Beethoven didn't do. When one of his string quartets was played, you can believe the second violin wasn't improvising.
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I think that virtuosity is the first sign of morality in a musician. It means you're serious enough to practice.
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The musicians I respected were much older than me. I expected them to cut my head, and they did.
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Jazz music celebrates life! Human life the range of it, the absurdity of it, the ignorance of it, the greatness of it, the intelligence of it, the sexuality of it, the profundity of it. And it deals with it. In all of its... It deals with it!
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Grace Kelly plays with intelligence, wit and feeling. She has a great amount of natural ability and the ability to adapt. That is the hallmark of a first-class jazz musician.
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Music is always for the listener, but the first listener is always the musician
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The soul gives us resilience - an essential quality since we constantly have to rebound from hardship.
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Sustained intensity equals ecstacy.
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When I was 12, I began listening to John Coltrane and I developed a love for jazz, which I still have more and more each year.
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