Wynton Marsalis and JLCO Shone with their Cuban colleagues in Havana

The Cuban audience received famous US trumpet player Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with a standing ovation at Mella Theater this week. Stunned by the virtuosity of the US jazz musicians and the warmth with which they played, Cubans packed the well known Havana theater to welcome the renowned band and follow tunes and pieces that are part of the history of jazz, such as Things to come, Sanctified blue, I left my baby standing in the back door crying.

This was the first of four concerts that Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra have been holding on October 5, 6, 7 and 9 at Havana´s Mella Theater. Marsalis and the band have been joined by renowned Cuban pianist and jazz musician Chucho Valdes, who has maintained a close and friendly relationship with the US performer for quite a long time.

During their stay in the Cuban capital, Marsalis and his colleagues deliver a key lecture to professors and students on October 9 in the same theater, and they are visiting arts schools in Havana.

Marsalis was also presented with Cuba’s International CubaDisco Award in recognition of his brilliant career as a musician and defender of trumpet and jazz. The US musician received the award at the Cuban Music Institute, where musicians from the island led by trumpet player Jasek Manzano gathered for a jam session in his honor.

The visitors were also delighted with the performance of the Cuban Jazz Band conducted by maestro Joaquin Butan which played works by internationally recognized composers like Chucho Valdes. During the event, Marsallis was presented with a painting by Geyser Manzano, Yasek Manzano’s brother.

Wynton Marsalis is a legend; since the times of Miles Davis no other trumpet player had ever given such a comprehensive performance so successfully acknowledged by the world of jazz. In New York, Marsalis was a member of the Jazz Messengers and the Herbie Hancock quartet in the 1980’s.

Described as an almighty musician, Wynton Marsalis also has deep passion for classical music and sound experimentation, has become a cultural promoter, social activist and educator.

One of the projects largely developed by Marsalis at the Lincoln Center since 1995 focuses on the preservation of jazz roots, the recognition of its trends, the public’s preference for jazz and new talents that emerge today, by means of concerts, contests, lectures, internships or audiovisual productions.