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I think that virtuosity is the first sign of morality in a musician. It means you're serious enough to practice.

— Wynton Marsalis For Wynton Marsalis’ 55th birthday (2015)

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More quotes by Wynton Marsalis

We're blues people. And blues never lets tragedy have the last word.

The first jazz musician was a trumpeter, Buddy Bolden, and the last will be a trumpeter, the archangel Gabriel.

Some stances are just conducive to swinging. If I stand up straight for too long it's harder to swing. Plus my feet hurt.

Quotable Jazz (2002)

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.

Wynton Marsalis on What Jazz Can Teach Us About Democracy (2026)

That's what I have to say as a band leader. I can't say, "Well, I'm going to solo on every tune. Every time somebody plays it's me." That's not the solution.

Wynton Marsalis on What Jazz Can Teach Us About Democracy (2026)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Wynton Marsalis (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.