May 6, 2002

Wynton Marsalis is one of the jazz world's most renowned trumpeters. The winner of eight Grammy Awards for classical and jazz compositions will discuss his new book "Jazz in the Bittersweet Blues of Life" (Da Capa, written with Carl Vigeland) ) as guest of the Kentucky Author Forum on May 6, 2002 in Louisville.

Reuban Jackson at NPR says the book "gives the reader a sharper, more accessible glimpse of Marsalis" and "subtlety shatters any remaining romantic images about a jazz musician's life on or off the road…It is must reading for anyone who thinks jazz musicians do little more than pull this music out of the air."

Marsalis has a full life away from the concert halls and the jazz clubs and the recording studios and opens the door on his other self with "Jazz in the Bittersweet Blues of Life." Initially noted as a classical musician, he is credited with helping bring jazz back into prominence. In 1997, he received the first Pulitzer Prize award ever for nonclassical music.

Born into the "first family of jazz" in New Orleans, Marsalis first began playing the trumpet at age 12. Two years later he was a trumpet soloist with the New Orleans Philharmonic Orchestra and won an award at the prestigious Berkshire Music Center for his classical musical abilities at age 17. After studies at the Julliard School of Music, he joined Art Blakey's and Herbie Hancock's jazz groups, touring and recording in Japan and the U.S., before forming his own group in 1981. With a classical album in 1984, Marsalis became the first instrumentalist to win simultaneously Grammy awards as the best jazz AND classical soloist.

Since his debut, he has sold over five million records worldwide and has toured 36 countries, averaging more than 120 concerts a year. He has also shown a flair for dance compositions, recording ballet scores and working with some of America's finest choreographers

Co-founder and artistic director of jazz at the Lincoln Center, Marsalis is an internationally respected teacher and advocate for arts education. Not yet 40, he has evolved to become the ambassador and historian of jazz, visiting more than 1,000 schools in the last decade introducing young people to jazz.

Refusing to conform to the media and public stereotypes for jazz and black artists, Marsalis rejects some of the theories on the roots of jazz. "Jazz critics are more concerned with race than with music … Beethoven was Beethoven. He wasn't 'the German'," he says in a Washington Post interview.

Outspoken and sometimes controversial, the talent of Marsalis has never been questioned. Perhaps the most ambitious composer alive, according to The Nation, he is the master of jazz.

Carl Vigeland has written about music and other subjects for many magazines and author of three books, including "In Concert: Onstage and Offstage with the Boston Symphony Orchestra."

Marsalis will be interviewed at the forum by Robert Siegel, host of NPR's "All Things Considered." Siegel is a 20-year veteran of radio and appeared previously with the forum as interviewer with John Updike and Ted Koppel.

Monday, May 6, 2002

This edition of the Kentucky Author Forum is sponsored by the University
of Louisville and recorded by WFPL Radio and KET-TV.

Wynton Marsalis will teach a class at U of L after a morning session downtown with students at the Brown School. The U of L program is open to all students and faculty at 10 a.m. at the Bird Recital Hall, School of Music, on the Belknap Campus. Marsalis will be assisted by Mike Tracy, director of the U of L Jazz Studies Program, and Harry Pickens, noted jazz pianist and educator.

Kentucky Center for the Arts
5 Riverfront Plaza, Downtown Louisville
The evening's activities are as follows:

5:00 p.m. Hawley-Cooke Booksellers book sale and wine and cheese reception
provided by Brown-Forman, Lobby

6:00 p.m. Interview in the Bomhard Theatre with Wynton Marsalis and Robert Siegel
Master of Ceremonies is Forum Editor/Book Editor Keith Runyon of The Courier-Journal

7:00 p.m. Q & A followed by book signing on Bittners' stage set

A $16 ticket includes the above three events. A limited number of discounted tickets of $5
each is available for U of L students, faculty and staff at the KCA box office --U of L photo ID is required.

8:15 p.m. Dinner with the author, hosted by the University of Louisville, at 626 West Main, Brown-Forman Corporation's newly refurbished urban redevelopment project. The dinner will be catered by 211 Clover Lane Restaurant.

A $100 package ticket includes the above events plus dinner with Wynton Marsalis. (Proceeds go to the nonprofit Kentucky Author Forum, $60 is tax-deductible.)

Tickets available at the Kentucky Center for the Arts, 502-584-7777
(1-800-775-7777). In addition calls may be placed through TicketMaster at 502-361-3100.

A taped version of the event will be made available at The Louisville Free Public Library, St. Matthews/Eline Branch, 3940 Grandview Avenue, at 2:00 p.m., May 9. There is no fee involved, but those interested must sign up in advance due to limited seating. Call the library directly at 574-1771 for further information.

WFPL 89.3 FM and the Kentucky Education Network (KET) will record the event for future broadcast, which will be distributed nationally to PBS affiliates.

The Kentucky Author Forum series is produced by Mary Moss Greenebaum and sponsored by the University of Louisville in cooperation with Hawley-Cooke Booksellers; Brown-Forman Corp.; Bittners of Louisville; WFPL, Louisville's NPR Station for News; The Courier-Journal; KET, the Kentucky Network; and the Kentucky Center for the Arts.

624 West Main, Second Floor
Louisville, Kentucky 40202
Phone 502.589.2884
Fax 502.589.4334
email KYFORUM@aol.com