it's not about just jazz; it's about music as a whole. >> reporter: and that is exactly what wynton marsalis more. because for all the uplift and sheer exuberance of this festival, it stems from a deeply felt concern for american culture. marsalis' recent book, titled "moving to higher ground," was a mix of music lesson, self-help, and a lament about the loss of knowledge of the arts in the nation and the black community in particular. in it, he wrote: >> if you are serious about american culture and you are serious about afro-american culture, you are in a lot of pain. you are not smiling about it. ( laughs ) i'm laughing, but it's that kind of laugh like "okay." >> reporter: you're laughing, but you re in pain about it. >> it's painful. yeah, it's painful. that's a painful thing for a black american who is really engaged with our culture. let's take the afro-american out of it, because the afro-american is a culture inside of a culture. so a lack of interest in our culture, period, in our nation. we would be so much better if we knew our own culture. it's here for us. it's been left by, yo

that meant, "go get back in the trumpet section." ( laughs ) >> safer: and there, wynton marsalis staysost difficult, hair-raising music in the jazz repertoire. ♪ ♪ >> marsalis: i like pressure. i like that. i like the challenge. i don't have a problem with it at all. ♪ ♪ i like the feeling of nervousness. i like the feeling that something counts. and i like to be tested. >> safer: soloing on tunes like this, a bass player said many years ago, is like trying to change the fan belt on your car with the engine running. ♪ ♪ >> marsalis: man, when you're playing, and you're playing with other people, it's such a combination of emotion, it's so intense. and when you make a tender statement or something's real sweet and you just caress a note, that takes more intensity. it's powerful. ♪ ♪ ( musical flourish ) ( cheers and applause ) ♪ ♪ >> safer: it's hard to believe the boy wonder from new orleans, who's been startling both jazz and classical audiences since his teens, is now pushing 50. he's won nine grammys, and a pulitzer prize for music, and logged more miles around the world than your a