Wynton Marsalis: I got my first trumpet when I was six years old, from Al Hirt. My father was playing in Al Hirt’s band at that time, and he got me a trumpet because my older brother Branford was playing the clarinet and the piano, so he didn’t want me to feel left out. But, I wasn’t going to feel left out, because I didn’t feel like practicing. So when they got me a trumpet, then I had to practice, and I was like, “Oh, man!” I didn’t actually start practicing until I was 12. But the first time I ever played the trumpet in public, I played a piece called the Marine Hymn. You know the Marine Hymn. I can’t even remember it right now, but everybody knows it. So, I played that at this junior recital the kids went to, and I sounded terrible. But my mother, she thought I sounded good. She said, “Oh, my baby sounds so good!” My first serious debut was just playing like little pop gigs around New Orleans, just playing horn parts.