Wynton Marsalis Net Worth

What is Wynton Marsalis's Net Worth?

Wynston Marsalis is an American musician and teacher who has a net worth of $10 million. Wynton Marsalis is a trumpeter, composer, and educator who serves as the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. He has released numerous albums since the early 80s, including studio, live, and compilation works. The recipient of many Grammy Awards, Marsalis also claimed the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his oratorio "Blood on the Fields," the first-ever jazz composition to win that award.

Lincoln Center Salary

As the director of Jazz at the Lincoln Center, in average years Wynton Marsalis earns an annual salary of $1.4 million. But his salary has reached as much as $1.8 million.

Early Life and Education

Wynton Marsalis was born on October 18, 1961 in New Orleans, Louisiana as the second of six sons of Ellis Jr. and Dolores. Named after jazz pianist Wynton Kelly, he was raised in the suburb of Kenner. Marsalis received his first trumpet at the age of six as a gift from trumpeter Al Hirt, a friend of his musician father. He was educated at Benjamin Franklin High School and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, and also studied classical music and jazz with his father at home. Marsalis frequently performed during this time, including as part of funk and marching bands; he was also the only black musician in the New Orleans Civic Orchestra. When he was 17, he became one of the youngest musicians admitted to Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Massachusetts. Marsalis went on to move to New York City in 1979 to attend Juilliard.

Performing and Recording Career

Although he originally intended to pursue a career in classical music, Marsalis became increasingly involved in jazz. He attributed this decision to his 1980 European tour as a member of Art Blakey's band the Jazz Messengers. After doing his first recording with Blakey, Marsalis went on tour with another major jazz artist, Herbie Hancock. Subsequently, he released his eponymous debut solo album, and then formed a quintet with his brother Branford Marsalis and fellow musicians Kenny Kirkland, Jeff Watts, and Charnett Moffett. Both his brother and Kirkland eventually left the group, prompting Marsalis to form a quartet with Watts, Marcus Roberts, and Robert Hurst. That group gradually expanded to include such names as Eric Reed, Herlin Riley, and Wycliffe Gordon.

Marsalis has recorded a plethora of albums over the years. In the 80s, his solo works included "Think of One," "Hot House Flowers," "J Mood," and "Marsalis Standard Time, Vol. 1." He also released collaborative albums with the National Philharmonic Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, and London Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. Marsalis's solo albums in the 90s included the "Soul Gestures in Southern Blue" series and additional volumes in the "Standard Time" series. Among his other solo albums are "The Magic Hour," "From the Plantation to the Penitentiary," and "He and She." Meanwhile, Marsalis has served as a sideman on recordings by such artists as Chico Freeman, Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Henderson, Shirley Horn, and Ted Nash.

Jazz at Lincoln Center

Marsalis began his long and fruitful partnership with New York City's Lincoln Center in 1987. That year, he helped launch a classical jazz summer concert series that eventually resulted in the creation of the department called Jazz at Lincoln Center. In 1996, the department split off into an independent entity, and Marsalis became its artistic director. Additionally, he became the musical director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, which performs in a variety of places, appears on television and radio, and produces albums.

Accolades and Honors

Marsalis has won a surfeit of accolades for his contributions to music. Among them are several Grammy Awards, the first two of which he won in 1983 in both jazz and classical categories. This made him the only musician in history to win Grammy Awards in both of those categories in the same year. Incredibly, Marsalis repeated the feat the next year. Later, in 1997, he made history again by winning the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his oratorio "Blood on the Fields," the first-ever jazz competition to claim the award.

Marsalis's other honors have included the National Medal of Arts; the National Humanities Medal; the Louis Armstrong Memorial Medal; the Algur H. Meadows Award for Excellence in the Arts; the Frederick Douglass Medallion; the Edison Award; and France's Grand Prix du Disque. France also bestowed upon Marsalis its highest distinction, the Legion of Honor. Meanwhile, Marsalis has been granted numerous honorary doctoral degrees, including from New York University, Northwestern, Harvard, Princeton, and the University of Miami.

Personal Life

For most of the 80s and into the early 90s, Marsalis was in a relationship with computer scientist Candace Stanley. Together, they had two sons named Wynton Jr. and Simeon. Marsalis later dated actress Victoria Rowell, with whom he had a son named Jasper. He also has a daughter named Oni whose maternal origins are unknown.