Wynton Marsalis Continues to Motivate and Inspire on New Album ‘The Democracy Suite’

For legendary jazz musician, Wynton Marsalis, upholding democracy is a lot like playing music in a group. The key ingredient to both, he says, is the act of listening. Music is a unique art form in that it can allow any number of people to participate—another voice for the harmony, another violin for the string section—and it is available to people of all ages, backgrounds and skill levels, too. Of course, music is often called the universal language, but it is also a form of communication that requires attention and practice to keep it alive. Like democracy, Marsalis says, the preservation of music is a precarious act. It can feel fragile or even futile at times. But with vigilance and persistence, progress is made and made again. The shape that progress takes as it unfolds, however, is sometimes hard to predict in a given moment. Today, though, for Marsalis, it’s taken the form of his latest release, The Democracy Suite. The album, which is available now to stream free or purchase, is further evidence of Marsalis’ long career and fight for equitable dialogue.