Jazz at Lincoln Center has announced that Wynton Marsalis, the organization's founder and artistic director since 1987, will transition out of his current role over the next two and a half years. Marsalis will continue in his current position through the 2026-2027 season, and then continue to serve on the staff in advisory capacity as founder through June 2028.

JALC's Board of Directors has appointed two committees, to identify the organization's next generation of artistic and executive leadership respectively. Marsalis will continue to serve on the Board, as well as play with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

In 1987, Marsalis, then already a seven-time Grammy award winner in both jazz and classical categories at the age of 26, founded Jazz at Lincoln Center. Initially a summer concert series, the project grew into a full-time large-scale arts organization dedicated to presenting, recording, and teaching jazz. Since then, Marsalis has won two additional Grammy awards, and his 1997 oratorio Blood on the Fields became the first jazz composition to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music.

Said Marsalis in a statement: "When we established Jazz at Lincoln Center in 1987, our goal was to build an enduring jazz institution that would both entertain and educate by exposing multi-generational audiences to an often-overlooked aspect of American culture, and I am proud of the tremendous progress we’ve made. JALC and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra have always been my main artistic priority as a musician and a citizen. As JALC approaches its 40th anniversary, there couldn’t be a better time for this transition. Performing and nurturing the future of jazz and its musicians through JALC has been the honor of a lifetime, and I am very grateful to my fellow artists, the board, leadership, and staff of Jazz at Lincoln Center, and must acknowledge the incredible desire and dedication of the JLCO."

"Wynton is among the greatest and most versatile jazz musicians and band leaders of all time who has taken performing, composing and programming to new heights, and it is with immense gratitude that we recognize his immeasurable contributions to JALC and the art of jazz,” said Clarence Otis, Chairman of the Board. “Wynton dared to imagine a world in which jazz is a widely experienced and celebrated art form and has worked tirelessly for most of his life to make that dream a reality. He has also been deeply committed to educating and nurturing new generations of jazz musicians, ensuring that his unique and singular brand will be carried forward."

Jazz at Lincoln Center's 2026-27 season will be a celebration of Marsalis' career, with the full season lineup to be announced next month.

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