Speaker: Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis is a world-renowned trumpeter, bandleader, composer, and a leading advocate of American culture. He presently serves as Managing and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Director of Jazz Studies at The Juilliard School, and President of the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation.
Marsalis has been called the “Pied Piper” of jazz and the “Doctor of Swing.” Since his recording debut in 1982, he has released 127 jazz, classical and alternative recordings and won many awards, from a home cooked meal to honors that require a tuxedo. He regularly performs in the most prestigious concert halls and is known to play until all hours of the morning in the most inconspicuous local clubs. From the very beginning of his career, education has been vital to his mission. He has taught and mentored a voluminous number of musicians who have gone on to play, teach and advocate in their own brilliant ways. Through these relationships Marsalis has ensured that the legacy of jazz music will continue to propagate for generations to come.
Over the past four decades, Marsalis has rekindled and animated widespread international interest in jazz through performances, educational activities, books, curricula, and relentless advocacy on public platforms. Today, Marsalis continues the renaissance that he sparked in the early 1980s, attracting new generations of young talent to jazz and illuminating the mythic meanings of jazz fundamentals.
(https://wyntonmarsalis.org/about/bio)
Speaker: Carlos Henriquez
Carlos Henriquez's musical journey began in the vibrant borough of the Bronx, New York, where he first drew breath in 1979. His affinity for music became evident from an early age as he immersed himself in its world. As the chords of opportunity sounded, he embraced the guitar during his formative years, later embracing the resonant allure of the bass while honing his talents within The Juilliard School's Music Advancement Program.
His path led him to the illustrious halls of LaGuardia High School of Music & Arts and Performing Arts. Here, his passion converged with the LaGuardia Concert Jazz Ensemble, a musical endeavor that would ascend to grand heights. The ensemble's victory in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Prestigious Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival of 1996 solidified their legacy.
Upon graduating in 1998, Carlos Henriquez embarked on an expedition that transcended borders and genres. An invitation to join the Wynton Marsalis Septet and the esteemed Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra transformed him into a global virtuoso. His resonant bass notes have graced over 25 albums, resonating harmoniously with the talents of luminaries like Chucho Valdes, Paco De Lucia, Tito Puente, and Eddie Palmieri.
(https://www.carloshenriquezmusic.com/about)
