An Evening with Wynton

Autumn arrived quietly this morning at 11:44 am. I hardly noticed. The air was cool and comfortable as I left for work this morning but it felt like another warm summer day when I returned home.
I have been looking forward to this week for months. I get to see three shows at the Wharton Center and two feature Wynton Marsalis. How could I be so lucky? Becky, Ruth and I arrived early at the Wharton Center. We had seats in the fourth row center.
Tonight was a World View Lecture Series discussion with Rodney Whitaker, one of the MSU Professors of Jazz and the head of the MSU School of Jazz, and Wynton Marsalis. Rodney was a student of Wynton's and is also part of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Rodney is the reason why Wynton has visited MSU and the Lansing area so frequently in the past few years.
Rodney lead the discussion and it was wonderful. Wynton Marsalis' latest book with Geoffrey Ward, Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life was just recently released and he spoke about the book and how jazz has changed his life. Wynton Marsalis has such a love of jazz that he can't keep it bottled up. He must share it with everyone. He is quite philosophical and has a unique way of looking at all things through the world of music. He is a teacher to students of all ages. He explained several jazz terms and told many wonderful stories of his childhood and his association with famous musicians at a young age. Some things he stressed: It is important to be creative, everyone can be creative. You have to accept your own uniqueness and then you can share in the uniqueness of others. Parent's and others should not criticize children, siblings etc by comparing them to others and trying to mold them into a certain type they should encourage uniqueness and personal traits because that is what makes a person that person. People should appreciate individual differences. He is a wonderful humanitarian and ambassador of Jazz throughout the world. He is a very gifted person and he enjoys sharing that gift. We are so lucky to have him visit and perform at the Wharton Center at MSU.