Coronavirus
Jazz great, Ellis Marsalis Jr., dies of coronavirus
Ellis Marsalis Jr., a jazz pianist from New Orleans, died Wednesday night from complications due to coronavirus, his son, Branford Marsalis, confirmed in a statement to Variety.
He was 85.
In addition to having his own prominent music career, Marsalis helped pave the way for four of his sons, Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo and Jason, to enter the music industry.
Wynton is a trumpeter and Jazz at Lincoln Center’s managing and artistic director; Branford plays the saxophone; Delfeayo is a trombonist; and Jason plays the drums.
“My dad was a giant of a musician and teacher, but an even greater father. He poured everything he had into making us the best of what we could be. And to quote my friend and Harvard Law professor David Wilkins, who just sent me the following text, ‘We can all marvel at the sheer audacity of a man who believed he could teach his black boys to be excellent in a world that denied that very possibility, and then watch them go on to redefine what excellence means for all time,’” Branford Marsalis said in the statement.
Marsalis counted Ed Blackwell, Cannonball Adderley, Nat Adderley and Al Hirt among some of his mentors in the ’50s and ’60s. He taught at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts in the ’70s, where some of his students included Terence Blanchard, Harry Connick Jr., Donald Harrison, Marlon Jordan, Kent Jordan and Nicholas Payton.
In 2008, he was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, and the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music in New Orleans was named in his honour a year earlier.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell posted a tribute to the musician on Twitter, calling him “the prototype of what we mean when we talk about New Orleans jazz.”
-
Sports23 hours ago
Ancelotti confirms Arda Guler’s stay at Real Madrid
-
Entertainment24 hours ago
Doris Simeon reveals struggle working odd jobs to survive in US
-
News24 hours ago
‘Disbursement ongoing’, FG gives update on N50,000 grants
-
Entertainment24 hours ago
Ex-BBnaija star Miracle graduates with distinction from aviation school
-
Politics21 hours ago
Ibadan residents defy curfew amid LG polls
-
News22 hours ago
Yahaya Bello: EFCC confirms refund of $760,000
-
health21 hours ago
Japa: 58,000 doctors renewed licences in 2023, says medical council
-
News19 hours ago
Lagos cracks down on illegal occupants of Agege railway lines