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Wynton Marsalis is a hide-bound trad bopper. He is to jazz what... well, what Ken Burns' "Jazz" was to jazz: a veneer of respectability that the form really doesn't require, a codification of narrow values to emulate and rarely transcend. Like "Jazz," he ain't nowhere near the whole picture, and he ain't the towering authority.
Furthermore, I'm not sure he's had an original musical thought in ages; the same cannot be said, however, for hip-hop (and the irony of his usurping the form to remain relevant is too perfect... at least Mos Def and Chuck D dabbled in hard rock like my man Sonny Sharrock). Just because he's black doesn't mean he's an acceptable Trojan Horse for people's musical biases.
If you'll excuse me, I've got a Rahsaan Roland Kirk CD in the car. Oh, and "Throw Some D's" on a mix CD.
