Marsalis
U.S. jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis plays trumpet during a rehearsal for a series of concerts in Havana Oct. 4, 2010. Reuters

(REUTERS) -- Jazz musician Wynton Marsalis will join U.S. television network CBS as a cultural correspondent to provide coverage of cultural and educational topics, CBS said on Thursday.

Marsalis, 50, a nine-time Grammy award winner, will provide insight on a range of issues for CBS' weekday morning news show and the network's Sunday Morning segment.

His first appearance in his new role will be on January 16 -- the national holiday marking the birthday of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.

The trumpet player and composer has a long association with CBS and was friends with the network's late newsman Ed Bradley.

Marsalis said he was looking forward to sharing with viewers the incredible variety and richness of our national culture -- from ballet to the blues, from barbecue to the backbeat.

Marsalis has been the artistic director of jazz at the Lincoln Center in New York since 1987, performed with symphony orchestras around the world, and written a number of books.

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