Jazz great Wynton Marsalis has been honoured with an award named for a pioneering opera singer.
The Marian Anderson Award is given in Philadelphia to “critically acclaimed artists who have impacted society in a positive way”.
Anderson was the first black singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera.
Marsalis has won nine Grammys and is the first jazz musician to win a Pulitzer Prize for music. His humanitarian work includes The Children’s Defence Fund and helping victims of Hurricane Katrina. He’s also the director of jazz at Lincoln Centre.
During Tuesday night’s awards ceremony, the trumpeter and composer took the stage with his original septet — something that hasn’t happened in 20 years.
Past recipients include Richard Gere, Mia Farrow, James Earl Jones and Jon Bon Jovi.
