Legendary trumpeter, composer, and cultural architect Wynton Marsalis will step down from his role as founder and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, marking the end of a transformative era in American music and arts leadership.
The organization's Board of Directors announced Thursday that Marsalis will transition out of his artistic and administrative leadership roles over the next two years, allowing for a deliberate and stable succession process. Marsalis has served in the position since the institution's founding in 1987, shaping it into one of the world's most respected homes for jazz.
"When we established Jazz at Lincoln Center in 1987, our goal was to build an enduring jazz institution that would both entertain and educate by exposing multi-generational audiences to an often-overlooked aspect of American culture," Marsalis said in a statement. "I am proud of the tremendous progress we've made."
Marsalis is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern jazz history. As one of the most recognizable artistic leaders at Lincoln Center, he played a pivotal role in securing jazz's place alongside classical music, opera, and ballet within America's most prestigious cultural institutions-an achievement that reshaped public perceptions of the genre.
Under his leadership, Jazz at Lincoln Center expanded into a global force encompassing performance, education, scholarship, and advocacy. Marsalis also helped define a rigorous artistic vision centered on jazz as a distinctly American art form rooted in history, discipline, improvisation, and communal expression.
Beyond his musical legacy, Marsalis has often spoken about the moral and spiritual dimensions of jazz, frequently drawing on Christian language and values in describing the music's call to truth, humility, discipline, and service. Raised in a faith-informed household and educated within the Black church tradition, Marsalis has described jazz as a practice that mirrors spiritual formation-requiring listening, sacrifice, accountability, and respect for something larger than oneself. While he has not foregrounded his faith in institutional leadership, those values have quietly shaped his philosophy of mentorship, education, and cultural stewardship.
During his tenure, Marsalis also emerged as a leading public intellectual, addressing issues of race, democracy, education, and American identity, and positioning jazz as both an artistic and ethical inheritance.
The Board emphasized that Marsalis will remain involved during the transition period to ensure continuity and to support the next generation of leadership. Details regarding his successor have not yet been announced.
As Marsalis prepares to step aside, his legacy is firmly secured: he did not simply lead an institution-he redefined the place of jazz in American cultural life, ensuring its survival, dignity, and future.
