
Ellis M.

“Ellis Marsalis, jazz pianist, educator, and patriarch of the Marsalis family, died of complications from COVID-19 on March 31, 2020, at the age of 85. He was born on Nov. 14, 1934. He graduated from Dillard University in New Orleans with a B.A. in music education, and that was the field to which he devoted himself. His music students included Terence Blanchard, Donald Harrison, Harry Connick Jr. and four of his sons: Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo and Jason Marsalis. Marsalis recorded more than 15 albums of his own, in addition to collaborations with his sons, and played a weekly gig at a small New Orleans club, Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro, for three decades before retiring in early 2020. He is missed by his family and many fans, but his musical and educational legacy live on in all who were touched by his genius.”
– NPR