Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, and music instructor, who is currently the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has been active in promoting classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Awards, and his oratorio Blood on the Fields was the first jazz composition to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Marsalis is the only musician to have won a Grammy Award in both jazz and classical categories in the same year. Marsalis was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on October 18, 1961, and grew up in the suburb of Kenner. He is the second of six sons born to Dolores Ferdinand Marsalis and Ellis Marsalis Jr., a pianist and music teacher. He was named after jazz pianist Wynton Kelly. Branford Marsalis is his older brother and Jason Marsalis and Delfeayo Marsalis are younger. All three are jazz musicians. While sitting at a table with trumpeters Al Hirt, Miles Davis, and Clark Terry, his father jokingly suggested that he might as well get Wynton a trumpet, too. Hirt volunteered to give him one, so at the age of six Marsalis received his first trumpet. Although he owned a trumpet when he was six, he did not practice much until he was 12. He attended Benjamin Franklin High School and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. He studied classical music at school and jazz at home with his father. He played in funk bands and a marching band led by Danny Barker. He performed on trumpet publicly as the only black musician in the New Orleans Civic Orchestra. After winning a music contest at fourteen, he performed Joseph Haydn's trumpet concerto with the New Orleans Philharmonic. Two years later he performed Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major by Bach. At seventeen, he was one of the youngest musicians admitted to Tanglewood Music Center. Marsalis applied to only two music colleges, the Juilliard School and Northwestern University. He was accepted to both schools and chose to attend the former. In 1979, he moved to New York City to attend the Juilliard School for a Bachelor of Music in trumpet performance, leaving in 1981 without earning a degree. He intended to pursue a career in classical music. In 1980, he toured Europe as a member of the Art Blakey band, becoming a member of The Jazz Messengers and remaining with Blakey until 1982. He changed his mind about his career and turned to jazz. He has said that years of playing with Blakey influenced his decision. He recorded for the first time with Blakey and one year later he went on tour with Herbie Hancock. After signing a contract with Columbia, he recorded his first solo album. In 1982, he established a quintet with his brother Branford Marsalis, Kenny Kirkland, Charnett Moffett, and Jeff "Tain" Watts. When Branford and Kenny Kirkland left three years later to record and tour with Sting, Marsalis formed a quartet, this time with Marcus Roberts on piano, Robert Hurst on double bass, and Watts on drums. After a while, the band expanded to include Wessell Anderson, Wycliffe Gordon, Eric Reed, Herlin Riley, Reginald Veal, and Todd Williams. ... Source: Article "Wynton Marsalis" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
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Biography from TMDB.
- October 18, 1961 (65)
- New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
- Composer, actor and producer
- 11 on MovieCove · 22 credits in all
Known for
What are Wynton Marsalis' films like?
Across their 12 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Ideas.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 6
A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 2 · Dark 1
A split, not a type: Grounded 4 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 2
Gentle 3 · Charged 3 · Intense 1
Steady 6 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 1
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 2
Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 3 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 4 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 1
Resolved 6 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 1
Roles they play
- Allyas Narrator (Wynton Marsalis) in Black Magic (2008)
Moods and endings
- Happy4
- Bittersweet6
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Wynton Marsalis' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Wynton Marsalis' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
22 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page; 52 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
In a Different Key(2020)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Motherless Brooklyn(2019)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
Bolden(2019)
Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films
Jackie Robinson(2016)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all shows
Concerto Ellington-Marsalis (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Man in the Glass: The Dale Brown Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Prohibition(2011)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows
Wynton Marsalis and Eric Clapton Play the Blues - Live from Jazz at Lincoln Center (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Willie Nelson / Wynton Marsalis - Live from Jazz at Lincoln Center, NYC (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Black Magic(2008)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)
The War(2007)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Sugar Ray Robinson: The Bright Lights and Dark Shadows of a Champion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Tune in Tomorrow...(1990)
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films
Shannon's Deal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Charles Mingus: Epitaph (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Shannon's Deal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all showsAn All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
Career shape
A full career of 20 titles from 1986 to 2021.
Biggest box office
Tune in Tomorrow... (1990)
Highest rated
The War (2007)
Most popular right now
Scooby-Doo in Where's My Mummy? (2005)
Film career
- 2005Screen debut· Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy?
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Wynton Marsalis' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 74th percentile, the median of all 6; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 83rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up5
- 50th to 74th4
- 25th to 49th2
Shape of the crowd
6 of their 11 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser6
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the sound and music 80/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles; fans 85, detractors 68. The element that speaks to their work as a composer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Wynton Marsalis work with?
People who share at least 2 of Wynton Marsalis' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Buddy Squires shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Ken BurnsShared titles: Jackie Robinson (2016), Prohibition (2011), The War (2007)See all 3 shared titles with Ken Burns
- Lynn NovickShared titles: Prohibition (2011), The War (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Lynn Novick
Writers
- Geoffrey C. WardShared titles: Prohibition (2011), The War (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Geoffrey C. Ward
Actors
- Josh LucasShared titles: Prohibition (2011), The War (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Josh Lucas
- Kevin ConwayShared titles: Prohibition (2011), The War (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Kevin Conway
- Patricia ClarksonShared titles: Prohibition (2011), Tune in Tomorrow... (1990)See all 2 shared titles with Patricia Clarkson
- Tom HanksShared titles: Prohibition (2011), The War (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Tom Hanks
Cinematographers and editors
- Buddy SquiresShared titles: Jackie Robinson (2016), Prohibition (2011), Black Magic (2008), The War (2007)See all 4 shared titles with Buddy Squires
- Erik EwersShared titles: Prohibition (2011), The War (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Erik Ewers
- Tricia ReidyShared titles: Prohibition (2011), The War (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Tricia Reidy
Producers
- David McMahonShared titles: Jackie Robinson (2016), The War (2007)See all 2 shared titles with David McMahon
- Elle CarriereShared titles: Jackie Robinson (2016), Prohibition (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Elle Carriere
- Karen KentonShared titles: Prohibition (2011), The War (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Karen Kenton
- Sarah BotsteinShared titles: Prohibition (2011), The War (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Sarah Botstein
Mixed roles
- Terence BlanchardShared titles: Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues (2022), Up from the Streets: New Orleans: The City of Music (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Terence Blanchard
