The appearance of Wynton Marsalis at the recently reopened Ronnie Scott's in early August is a triumph for the club. As the most influential figure in jazz is usually only to be heard - in this country, at least - in cavernous concert halls, this is a unique opportunity to catch the master trumpeter in the kind of intimate venue that serves the music best.
But much has changed since 1980, when the then 18-year-old prodigy performed at Ronnie's as part of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Marsalis now holds unparalleled sway and power of patronage as Director of Jazz at the Lincoln Center in New York, and his profile reaches way beyond the dreams of any other jazz musician. He sits on conference platforms with the likes of Bill Clinton, Colin Powell and Rudy Giuliani; he is one of the faces of the Apple iPod.
And along the way, in pursuit of his
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His music is stunning but don’t expect any innovation, says sholto byrnes
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mission to have jazz accorded the same respect as classical music, Marsalis has turned into a neo-conservative, reactionary purist who has anointed himself the jealous guardian of the jazz flame. All electric instruments are out as far as he is concerned, as are rock or funk rhythms; which instantly dismisses huge swathes of jazz since 1970. The clock of innovation and development stopped long ago for him. He once told me he considered Miles Davis to be "a genius who decided to go into rock, and was on the grandstand looking like, basically, a buffoon".
Marsalis deserves credit for his efforts to preserve the jazz of the past, and his London gigs are sure to be stunning. But don't look to him to point the way to the future. A future informed by Marsalis's strictures would be beautifully laid out - and utterly barren. 
FIRST POSTED JULY 13, 2006
 Miles Davis’s legacy
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