An enthusiastic audience was offered three sides of world famous musician Wynton Marsalis--lecturer, performer and educator--at "About Music," an event held at the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Askwith Education Forum on Saturday in the Science Center.

Marsalis is a master of many trades--an award-winning musician, composer and public television personality.

The morning began with performances by the Boston Arts Academy Blues Band and Harvard University's Kuumba Singers.

Reflecting on lecturing after the music preceding his introduction, Marsalis said, "A speech is not what's called for [now]. A speech would be a waste of time."

He chose instead to combine lecture with performance, intertwining music with speech. The audience showed their approval with applause.

Marsalis opened his address with a discussion about the function of art in everyday life. As the audience laughed, Marsalis acted out his playground episodes of storytelling, explaining, "That's art. It's re-creation."

Marsalis condemned the messages communicated in modern hip-hop music. "When I see what some people are doing in the name of music," Marsalis explained, "it's like somebody coming into my house and feeling on my momma."

The second half of Marsalis' lecture was spent discussing jazz music as the "music of democracy." Taking advantage of the Boston Arts Band, Marsalis recreated his first jazz lesson.