During the past 15 years Wynton Marsalis has managed to be a controversial figure despite his obvious abilities. His selective knowledge of jazz history (considering post-1965 avant-garde playing to be outside of jazz and 1970s fusion to be barren) is unfortunately influenced by the somewhat eccentric beliefs of Stanley Crouch, and his hiring policies as musical director of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra led to exaggerated charges of ageism and racism from local writers. However, more than balancing all of this out is Marsalis's inspiring work with youngsters, many of whom he has introduced to jazz; a few young musicians, such as Roy Hargrove, have been directly helped by Marsalis.

Wynton Marsalis's trumpet playing has been both overcriticized and (at least early on) overpraised. When he first arrived on the scene with the Jazz Messengers, his original inspiration was Freddie Hubbard. However by the time he began leading his own group, Marsalis often sounded very close to Miles Davis (particularly when holding a long tone) although a version of Miles with virtuosic technique. He was so widely praised by the jazz press at the time (due to their relief that the future of jazz finally seemed safe) that there was an inevitable backlash. Marsalis's sometimes inaccurate statements about jazz of the 1970s and the avant-garde in general made some observers angry, and his rather derivative tone at the time made it seem as if there was always going to have to be an asterisk by his name when evaluating his talents. Some listeners formed permanent impressions of Marsalis as a Miles Davis imitator, but they failed to take into account that he was still improving and developing. With the 1990 recording Tune in Tomorrow, Marsalis at last sounded like himself. He had found his own voice by exploring earlier styles of jazz (such as Louis Armstrong's playing), mastering the wa-wa mute and studying Duke Ellington. From that point on, even when playing a Miles Davis standard, Marsalis has had his own sound and has finally taken his place as one of jazz's greats.

The son of pianist Ellis Marsalis, the younger brother of Branford and the older brother of Delfeayo and Jason (the Marsalis clan as a whole can be accurately called "The First Family of Jazz"), Wynton (who was named after pianist Wynton Kelly) received his first trumpet at age six from Ellis's employer Al Hirt. He studied both classical and jazz and played in local marching bands, funk groups and classical orchestras. Marsalis played first trumpet in the New Orleans Civic Orchestra while in high school. He went to Juilliard when he was 18 and in 1980 he made his first recordings with the Art Blakey Big Band and joined the Jazz Messengers.

By 1981 the young trumpeter was the talk of the jazz world. He toured with Herbie Hancock (a double-LP resulted), continued working with Blakey, signed with Columbia and recorded his first album as a leader. In 1982 Marsalis not only formed his own quintet (featuring brother Branford and soon Kenny Kirkland, Charnett Moffett and Jeff "Tain" Watts) but recorded his first classical album; he was immediately ranked as one of the top classical trumpeters of all time. His quintet with Branford lasted until late 1985 although a rift developed between the brothers (fortunately temporary) when Branford finally quit the band to tour with Sting's pop group. By that time Wynton was a superstar, winning a countless number of awards and polls.

Marsalis's next group featured pianist Marcus Roberts, bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Watts. Over time the group grew to become a four-horn septet with trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, altoist Wes Anderson, Todd Williams on tenor, bassist Reginald Veal, drummer Herlin Riley and (by the early '90s) pianist Eric Reed. Marsalis has really developed his writing during the past decade (being influenced by Duke Ellington) and the septet proved to be a perfect outlet for his arranging. Although Wynton Marsalis broke up the band by 1995, many of the musicians still appear in his special projects or with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.

In 1997 Marsalis' marathon Blood on the Fields (which was released as a three-CD set) became the first jazz-based work to win a Pulitzer Pize. Standard Time, Vol. 5: The Midnight Blues followed a year later. With the passing of so many jazz giants during the past few years, Wynton Marsalis's importance (as a trumpeter, leader, writer and spokesman for jazz) continues to grow. Marsalis Plays Monk: Standard Time, Vol. 4 followed in 1999 to coincide with the popular PBS special.