Celebrating Jazz with the new generation of jazz musicians

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - Jazz music turned 100 this year.

Fox 5 is celebrating with a series of reports looking at Jazz past and future.

Sometimes a dream begins with a teach who believes and someone who pushes you to the next plateau.

For students at Jazz at Lincoln Center Summer Jazz Academy, Wynton Marsalis is the greatest act of optimism.

The iconic trumpeter and composer is also the managing and artistic director at Jazz at Lincoln Center, embracing the role as an educator. He wants pupils to engage the power of this American art form.

“Music gives you a way to order the world. You can understand much deeper than the notes,” said Marsalis.

Now on its third year, the 44 musicians selected for the camp at Bard College are some of the best young Jazz artists in the country.

Dr. Michael Albaugh runs the two-week session, which he said “It’s competitive to get in. They have to audition on four different pieces and scales.”

Marsalis had a simple message for the next generation, “Be real. Being real many times may mean being the opposite of what you are. You don’t have to have a shiny suit of a digital watch to be contemporary. You’re going to deal with yourself, your own ego and other people’s creativity. There, you can come together to create a more productive and meaningful world.” 

Produced by Peter Facini, Fox 5 News Managing Editor