Jazz legends Wynton Marsalis and Vincent Gardner are shaping Houston’s future through Jazz Houston, inspiring high school students with transformative performances.
HOUSTON — Legendary jazz musician Wynton Marsalis and trombonist Vincent Gardner are using their passion for music to inspire the next generation of Houston musicians through Jazz Houston, an organization that provides professional training and performance opportunities to local high school students.
Gardner and his wife Belinda founded Jazz Houston in 2016, starting with a professional orchestra before launching a youth orchestra in 2020 specifically for Houston high school students. The program gives young musicians a chance to learn from professionals and perform alongside some of the biggest names in jazz.
Gardner explained the importance of passing on their musical knowledge.
“We knew that passing it on to the younger generation and exposed to all the beauties of it, had to be a part of what we are doing here,” he said.
The vision for Jazz Houston grew out of Gardner’s relationship with Marsalis while playing together in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in New York. Both musicians were raised in musical families and now share a commitment to teaching alongside their friendship and professional partnership.
Marsalis, who performs the theme song for CBS Sunday Morning, discussed what he hopes audiences take away from jazz performances.
“The same thing it does for me. I want folks to know about it, thats what we want people to get out of any great experience we have, because we know how transformative it has been for us,” Marsalis said.
That transformative power was on full display recently at the Hobby Center, where the Jazz Houston Youth Orchestra served as the opening act for Marsalis and his band.
Each year, 60 Houston high school students audition for the youth orchestra, with 22 being accepted into the program. Gardner takes the students on annual summer trips to perform in cities like New York and San Francisco.
“Along with those trips, we visit college music programs and meet with great musicians in the area to expose them and help in their jazz education,” Gardner said.
When asked about music’s therapeutic qualities, Marsalis offered a thoughtful response using a jazz analogy.
“Not just in some way. It’s the spirit and concentration. It allows you to address what causes you a problem. An analogy by Wynton, the blues is the disease and the cure. That’s what playing is like,” he said.
The program now provides the same opportunities that these longtime friends have enjoyed throughout their careers, ensuring Houston’s young musicians can follow in their footsteps.