Ellis Marsalis

Artist Playlists

About Ellis Marsalis

Pianist Ellis Marsalis was born in 1934 in New Orleans and went on to become the patriarch of one of the most famous families in jazz history. Four of his six sons—trumpeter Wynton, saxophonist Branford, drummer Jason, and trombonist Delfeayo—have maintained successful careers after working in various contexts with him. The elder Marsalis began as a saxophonist, but switched to piano while studying music at Dillard University in the early 1950s. In the following decade he worked with drummer Ed Blackwell as well as Cannonball and Nat Adderley, but his greatest legacy was his role as educator and role model for jazz in the Crescent City, where musicians like Terence Blanchard, Donald Harrison, Nicholas Payton, and Harry Connick Jr. developed their skills under his tutelage. From the mid-’80s, he rapidly expanded his discography, working as a sideman with his sons and other key New Orleans figures and recording more than 20 albums under his own leadership. Marsalis died from pneumonia brought on by Covid in April 2020 at the age of 85.

HOMETOWN
New Orleans, LA, United States
BORN
November 14, 1934
GENRE
Jazz
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