Jazz, the Doctor of Democracy

Wynton Marsalis just stepped down as the managing and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, which he founded nearly 40 years ago. He shares his thoughts on the state of democracy in the US presently using the craft he knows so well, Jazz, to illustrate his points.

TRANSCRIPT (Generated; check against delivery)

[Wynton Marsalis] For us to be, to become, to come into alignment with our American mythology. We are far away from it. We can make all the movies we want to make, making the heroes into the one person with integrity, the level of corruption we are seeing now. We always been on the way towards it.

I’m a non-partisan attacker of the corruption I see. I’ve been doing it for 40 years, and what you’re seeing in the public space now is the type of arrogance and criminal activity that we were always working our way towards. Now you see it. And the question is, how do the people at large respond to this? Are we going to say, No, we can’t.

The judicial system is not saving us the way it should. There’s a level of corruption that we have to wake up and say we’re tired of this. And if we do it okay, if we don’t, we’re going to be just like all other things that could have been something, and it is related to jazz, because in jazz, you can plug the bass amp in, the drummer can play loud. One soloist can play 400 choruses, and the next one can fight by playing 430 the music breaks down. You have to balance your freedom to improvise with restraint that comes with swinging and recognizing other people.

Democracy dies when you do not understand the need for leveling and to create wealth for everybody and to see in your neighbor not an enemy, but a friend and for elites to manage themselves, that’s what I have to do as a band leader. I can’t say, Well, I’m here. I’m going to solo on every tune every time somebody plays as me. That’s not the solution.

So, yeah, we we’re in trouble right now, but I’m more invigorated about it. You know, a doctor doesn’t go into a place where a lot of people are sick and say, Man, a lot of people are sick here. You’re the doctor. Man, come in and help people so, so let’s roll up our sleeves. A lot of talking always goes on about democracy. Let’s see, until you’re the doctor, what are you doing now I’m the Doctor of democracy. Let’s go and what do you do with your music to be the doctor of democracy.

Now, hey, we get ready to we have a whole three months that we get ready to dedicate to it. This called Jazz call for freedom. We’re putting out three records. We got 12 videos of younger, young and older people of all generations singing freedom songs about democracy.

We announcing some education that we’re going to do in Minnesota. We already do it, education program called Let freedom swing. And we’re rereleasing an album I did in 2017, or 18, called the Ever Funky Low Down. And if you listen to that, you’re gonna think I’m writing the blueprint for right now. It’s ever funky and it’s low down, and you seeing it play out. Top of Form

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