SECRETARY-GENERAL TO RECOGNIZE RENOWNED JAZZ MUSICIAN WYNTON MARSALIS AS MESSENGER OF PEACE

Note to Correspondents                                Note No. 5656

                                                      19 March 2001

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO RECOGNIZE RENOWNED JAZZ MUSICIAN

WYNTON MARSALIS AS MESSENGER OF PEACE

On Tuesday, 20 March, Secretary-General Kofi Annan will honour jazz artist and composer, Wynton Marsalis, by appointing him a United Nations Messenger of Peace.  He joins eight other Messengers of Peace, individuals who possess widely recognized talents in the field of arts, literature, music and sports who have agreed to help focus worldwide attention on the work of the United Nations.

A renowned jazz artist and classical musician, Mr. Marsalis is Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City -- a premier arts organization devoted to jazz.  In addition to his responsibilities in New York, Mr. Marsalis spends over half the year on tour at the helm of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.  He is a winner of nine Grammy Awards.  In 1983, he was the first and only artist to win both classical and jazz Grammy Awards in one year, a feat he repeated in 1984.  Mr. Marsalis was named "one of America's 25 most influential people" by Time magazine, and one of "The 50 Most Influential Boomers" by Life magazine, in recognition of his critical role in stimulating an increased awareness of jazz to an entire generation of jazz fans, artists and young people.

Mr. Marsalis has devoted a major part of hisprofessional career to teaching and advocating music education.  He regularly conducts master classes, lectures and concerts for students of all ages and disciplines as well as in hospitals and prisons.  He has also donated musical instruments and assisted with scholarships to young musicians from underprivileged backgrounds.  He has participated in and organized charitable events nationally and internationally.  On his recent European tour, Mr. Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra helped raise funds for the Gujarat Earthquake Appeal.

Mr. Marsalis sees jazz as central to his new role as a Messenger of Peace:  "It is a great honour to be designated by Kofi Annan as a United Nations Messenger of Peace because this music [jazz] is precisely about love and respect for the dignity of all mankind.  As the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and I travel around the world, we do all that we can through our performances and educational events to bring people of many cultures together."

The Secretary-General will present Mr. Marsalis with a formal framed citation and a lapel pin in the form of a dove exclusively designed by artist Leni Fuhrman for the Messengers of Peace.  The citation says, in part "...through your

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contributions to music and charity the message of peace will resound throughout the nations".

Since 1997, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed eight prominent persons to serve the United Nations as Messengers of Peace:  Muhammad Ali, Vijay Amritraj, Anna Cataldi, Michael Douglas, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Enrico Macias, Luciano Pavarotti and Elie Weisel.

Contacts in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General for press inquiries regarding Messengers of Peace and Mr. Marsalis’ appointment:  Kevin Kennedy at 963-6821; or Yvonne Acosta at 963-7214.

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