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Ellis Marsalis

Ellis Marsalis is regarded by many as the premier modern jazz pianist in New Orleans. Born on November 14, 1934, he began formal music studies at the Xavier University junior school of music at age eleven. After high school Marsalis enrolled in Dillard University (New Orleans) as a clarinet major. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music education in 1955. Marsalis spent the next year working as an assistant manager in his fathers’ motel business.

The following year Marsalis then joined the U.S. Marine Corps and while stationed in southern California began honing his skills as a pianist on a television show entitled "Dress Blues" and a radio show called "Leatherneck Songbook". Both shows were sponsored by the Marine Corps. After completing a stint in the Marine Corps Marsalis returned to New Orleans and married Dolores Ferdinand, a New Orleanian, who bore him six sons; Branford, Wynton, Ellis III, Delfeayo, Miboya and Jason.

In 1964 Marsalis moved his wife and family of, at at time, four sons to the small rural Louisiana town of Breux Bridge where he became a school band and choral director at Carver high school for two years. Returning to New Orleans he began to freelance once again on the local music scene. He set his sights on bebop and formed a small combo with drummer Ed Blackwell, clarinetist Alvin Batiste, and saxophonist Battiste.

With its modern, almost avant-garde style, the group found little work in New Orleans, but it did get the attention of legendary alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman. Originally from Texas and steeped in that state's R&B style, Coleman found himself at odds with most of New Orleans' jazz scene. He quickly left The Big Easy for California. Once he arrived, he asked Ellis and the rest of the group to follow.

After the group arrived in California, they quickly realized that it was not exactly the Promised Land they had hope to find. Even though their time out West was short-lived, they did manage to make their first recording in 1956 as The American Jazz Quintet. Ellis soon returned to New Orleans and continued playing modern bebop, despite the limited support from the city.

Things brightened up in 1963, when famed cornetist Nat Adderley and his brother, alto saxophonist and bandleader Cannonball came to New Orleans. The brothers recorded with Ellis and several other New Orleans musicians on Nat's album “In the Bag.” The album dubbed Ellis, drummer James Black, and tenor saxophonist Nat Perrilliat as the "Down Home New Stars."

Between 1966 and 1974 Marsalis would perform at the Playboy Club (New Orleans), in the Al Hirt night club, Lu and Charles night club and enter the teaching profession again as an adjunct professor at Xavier University (New Orleans).

While the family continued to grow Marsalis, decided to return to school in the early summer session of 1974 working towards a Masters Degree at Loyola University (New Orleans). Marsalis would also interview for a teaching position at a new Magnet school for the arts. his interview was successful and he was hired in the Fall semester at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts(1974) high school. He would spend the next twelve years at NOCCA as an instrumental music teacher with a Jazz studies emphasis. Many leading jazz artists today — alto saxophonist Donald Harrison, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, pianist Harry Connick, Jr. — studied at the CCA with Ellis. It should come to no surprise that his sons Wynton Jason, Delfeayo, and Branford also attended the Center.

In 1986 Marsalis accepted the position of Commonwealth Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. He would spend two of the three years as coordinator of Jazz Studies before returning to New Orleans and the University of New Orleans to become the first occupant of the CocaCola endowed chair of Jazz Studies as the director.

Marsalis has been the recipient of Honorary Doctorate degrees from his alma mater Dillard University, (1989) and Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana (1997).

On August 10, 2001 Marsalis officially retired from the University of New Orleans after twelve years as the first occupant of the CocaCola Jazz Chair and the Director of the Jazz Studies Division.

Marsalis has acquired an impressive resume of recordings both as a leader and in accompaniment of his famous sons. For his latest project, Marsalis has started his own label ELM Records.

In January 2011, Ellis Marsalis will become the first jazz artist in history to release an interactive album in the new iTunes "LP" format. Ellis Marsalis: An Open Letter to Thelonious (on Nu Jazz Records) features (11) songs, (3) bonus audio tracks, (4) bonus high-definition videos, (10) photos, bonus liner notes and audio liner notes, and bonus literaru content.

On January 11, 2011 he scheduled to be inducted as a NEA National Endowmet of the Arts) Jazz Master at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theatre in New York City.

He continues to perform locally in his city of New Orleans.

Awards

2011 National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Master

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Ellis Marsalis with Jason Marsalis: The New Orleans Collection: For All We Know

Read "The New Orleans Collection: For All We Know" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
January 15, 2021

Newvelle Records, which was established in 2015, believes that in this digital age there is an opportunity to build a new model for creating and distributing music. Each year, Newvelle releases a series of six albums, exclusively on vinyl, that pairs musicians with celebrated artists, writers and poets. The New Orleans Collection contains four single sleeve 180 gram clear vinyl albums, each of which was recorded in New Orleans between January and March 2020 at Esplanade Studios, a former church ...

Profile

Goodbye, Ellis Marsalis, Jazz Father

by Douglas Groothuis
April 17, 2020

The COVID-19 Reaper has claimed another senior statesman of pianist and educator, Ellis Marsalis, who left us on April 1. He was 85 and died in his home city of jny: New Orleans, which has recently ignited as a hot spot for the menace virus. We will likely lose many senior jazz performers in the coming weeks and months. As the Hebrew Psalmist wrote of God and death. You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, ...

New York Beat

Ellis Marsalis: New York City, NY, November 9, 2012

by Nick Catalano
December 8, 2012

Although pianist Ellis Marsalis has garnered countless plaudits for his teaching at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and as chair of the Jazz Studies department at the University of New Orleans he rarely gets critical notice in these parts for his pianism. For decades, he has shaped the lives of countless jazz musicians including trumpeters Terence Blanchard and Nicholas Payton, pianist singer Harry Connick Jr., and his own four musical sons. During his career, the 78 year-old pianist's ...

164

Album Review

Ellis Marsalis: A New Orleans Christmas Carol

Read "A New Orleans Christmas Carol" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
November 14, 2011

Christmas music doesn't usually come into stores, radios and homes until Thanksgiving time but, in a year when snow covered the East Coast before Halloween, early arrivals seem to be the norm. Guitarist Doug Munro delivered a Django Reinhardt-styled set of holiday classics on A Very Gypsy Christmas (GotMusic, 2011) in September; pianist Geri Allen tackled songs of the season on A Child Is Born, which hit stores around Columbus Day; and now, 2011 NEA Jazz Master Ellis Marsalis joins ...

230

Album Review

Ellis Marsalis: An Open Letter to Thelonious

Read "An Open Letter to Thelonious" reviewed by Michael P. Gladstone

by Michael P. Gladstone
July 4, 2008

Pianist Ellis Marsalis' An Open Letter to Thelonious is more than just another homage to the mystique and magic of Thelonious Monk's music.

Marsalis is no stranger to the Monk's music, but it is hardly an area of specialty for the patriarch pianist. As a native of New Orleans, he went against stereotype by not specializing in either trad jazz or R&B. Beginning in the late '50s, he played with mainstream players like Ed Blackwell, Cannonball and Nat ...

208

Album Review

Ellis Marsalis Quartet: An Open Letter to Thelonious

Read "An Open Letter to Thelonious" reviewed by Woodrow Wilkins

by Woodrow Wilkins
June 19, 2008

To many, he is the patriarch of America's most celebrated jazz family. But to those who've heard him play, he's a talent not to be overlooked. Ellis Marsalis is one of the most respected among the New Orleans-based jazz artists. A former Marine, he played the circuit in New Orleans before hooking up with Ornette Coleman. Over the years, Marsalis built an extensive resume as musician, professor of music and, of course, father to Wynton, Branford, Ellis III, ...

392

Album Review

The Ellis Marsalis Quartet: An Open Letter to Thelonious

Read "An Open Letter to Thelonious" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
April 21, 2008

Thelonious Monk is jazz's biggest enigma. Called the “high priest of bebop," the jazz Monk composed and performed was anything but. Technically, Monk's time and tempo were impressive, but he was no dazzling speed wizard like Bud Powell or arpeggio painter like Art Tatum. He didn't compose bebop, but bebop leaders recorded his compositions. What Monk was...was Monk. He was the singular jazz spirit that makes jazz jazz and his songbook the richest in the music.

Monk's compositions, ...

Recording

Nu Jazz Records Releases The First Album From The Ellis Marsalis International Jazz Piano Competition: The Finalists

Source: Nu Jazz Publicity
June 15, 2020

Nu Jazz Entertainment—a long time producer of high quality audio and video content in the genre of jazz—announced the June 2020 release of the first recording from the critically acclaimed 2018 Ellis Marsalis International Jazz Piano Competition, entitle The ELLIS MARSALIS International Jazz Piano Competition presents: THE FINALISTS, exclusively on Amazon’s Digital store and as a CD on June 19, 2020, and on other digital services world-wide on July 14, 2020 on Nu Jazz Records About The Ellis Marsalis International ...
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Obituary

Ellis Marsalis (1934-2020)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
April 6, 2020

Ellis Marsalis, an elegant jazz pianist who chose to remain in his native New Orleans for much of his career while raising a family that included musician sons Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo and Jason, died on April 1. He was 85. Marsalis wasn't widely known among jazz fans outside of New Orleans for many years, largely because of his decision to become an educator at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, the University of New Orleans, and Xavier University of ...
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Obituary

Ellis Marsalis Is Gone

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
April 6, 2020

The death this week of Ellis Marsalis recalls dozens of enounters with him when he was one of New Orleans’ premier jazz musicians. Long before Ellis became famous as the father of Wynton, Branford, Jason and Delfeo, he established himself as a nonpareil pianist and educator. I remember hearing the the young Marsalis when he was a key member of alto saxophonist Al Belletto’s sextet in the 1960s and being spellbound by the intricacies he and Belletto wove in their ...
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Contest

Marshall University And The Nu Jazz Agency Announce The Winners Of The 2018 Ellis Marsalis International Jazz Piano Competition In Huntington, West Virginia

Source: Nu Jazz Publicity
June 29, 2018

Marshall University, a leading institution of higher education in West Virginia, and the Nu Jazz Agency, have announced the winners of the inaugural 2018 Ellis Marsalis International Jazz Piano Competition held on June 22- 23, 2018 in Huntington, WV (U.S.A.). Ben Paterson (Philadelphia, PA) wonFirst Place; Rina Yamazaki (Saitama, Japan) won Second Place & The Nu Jazz Agency’s Chico & Lupe O’Farrill Award for the Best Original Composition; Isaiah Thompson (West Orange, NJ) won Third Place & the award for ...
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Contest

Preliminary Judges And Side Personel For The Ellis Marsalis International Jazz Piano Competition From June 22-23, 2018 Announced!

Source: Nu Jazz Publicity
May 30, 2018

Marshall University—a leading institution of higher education in West Virginia and the Nu Jazz Agency, have announced a “Who’s Who” list of Preliminary Judges and Side Personnel for the inaugural Ellis Marsalis International Jazz Piano Competition during the Huntington International Jazz Festival June 19- 23, 2018 in Huntington, WV (U.S.A.). About the Prelininary Judges and Side Personnel The “Live” competition, set for June 22 & 23, 2018 is slated to be the largest competition in jazz and the first of ...
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Festival

Marshall University And The Nu Jazz Agency Announce The Launch Of The Huntington International Jazz Festival In Huntington, West Virginia

Source: Nu Jazz Publicity
May 14, 2018

Marshall University, a leading institution of higher education in West Virginia and the Nu Jazz Agency, announced the dates for the long-awaited Huntington International Jazz Festival to be held in Huntington, West Virginia from June 19-23, 2018. This 5-day Event comprises a multitude of community activities for young and old, from Jazz aficionados to music, art, and literature lovers, culminating in two back to back nights of historical performances from the Marsalis Family Quintet, Arturo O’Farrill & the O’Farrill Family ...
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Event

Nu Jazz Agency And Marshall University Announce The Ellis Marsalis International Jazz Piano Competition Call For Entries!

Source: Nu Jazz Publicity
April 6, 2018

Nu Jazz Agency and Marshall University—a leading institution of higher education in West Virginia, announced the dates for the long-awaited Ellis Marsalis International Jazz Piano Competition in Huntington, West Virginia (U.S.A.). Preliminary Entry will be open to all from April 9 to May 19, 2018 (12:01 a.m. EST), with up to six (6) competitors being chosen to perform in the “Live" portion of the competition June 22-23, 2018 in Huntington, West Virginia (USA). Slated to become the largest competition of ...
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Recording

Nu Jazz Entertainment/ELM Records Announces The Vinyl Release Of An 80th Birthday Celebration! From NEA Jazz Master Ellis Marsalis In Celebration Of His 82nd Birthday For A Limited Time!

Source: Nu Jazz Publicity
October 31, 2016

Nu Jazz Entertainment/ELM Records—two long time producers of high quality audio and video content in the genre of jazz—announced the November 2016 release of a vinyl album, Ellis Marsalis: An 80th Birthday Celebration (Limited Edition), from the NEA Jazz Master. The double disc vinyl album will be released through the Pledge Music distribution platform with a plethora of bonus options and extras designed to allow music fans a deeper and richer experience. About An 80th Birthday Celebration Album In celebration ...
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Education

NEA Jazz Master Ellis Marsalis And Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition Winner Kris Bowers Teamed To Present Music Education Programs

Source: Holly Wallace
May 31, 2012

Hundreds of students and jazz lovers attended free grand piano duo outreach events Celebrated pianist-educator Ellis Marsalis was joined by newcomer Kris Bowers, the 22-year-old winner of the 2011 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, in a series of music education programs across New Orleans, presented by the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz with lead funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Marsalis and Bowers performed together for the first time on duo grand pianos for hundreds of public ...
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Recording

Ellis Marsalis - A New Orleans Christmas Carol (2011)

Source: Something Else!
December 7, 2011

An expanded version of a 2002 Yuletide project, A New Orleans Christmas Carol impressively expands the original collaboration with Marsalis' son Jason (on drums and vibes), bassist Bill Huntington and vocalist Cynthia Liggins Thomas. The result is a tour-de-force for the often under-exposed patriarch of the Marsalis jazz family, and a seasonal record of sumptuous charm. Marsalis deftly shifts from the elegiac “O Tannenbaum" (associated now forever, it seems, with Charlie Brown) to a funky second-line rendition of “Little Drummer ...
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Marsalis and saxophonist Derek Doughet share a telepathic empathy that infuses the entire group building a synergistically cohesive performance unit. - C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz

Marsalis keeps Monk's music very much alive with his inspired interpretations of the legend's compositions. - Ken Dryden, Rovi All Music Guide

Ellis Marsalis Jr. captures the Monk magic leading his quartet in performing unique renditions of his compositions. - Edward Blanco, E jazznews

Ellis Marsalis, at 73 a lucid, subtle, laconic pianist, shines up these tunes, leaving sufficient space while weaving phrases in and around the solos. - Ben Ratliff, New York Times