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Ellis Marsalis albums:
Duke in Blue /
Loved Ones /
Joe Cool's Blues /
The Marsalis Family /
Piano in E-Solo Piano /
Heart of Gold
* * * *
* Ellis Marsalis, born November 14, 1934, is New
Orleans's premier modern jazz pianist. He began his formal
studies at the Xavier University junior school of music at age
eleven. After high school Marsalis enrolled at Dillard
University (New Orleans) and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
degree in music education.
After a stint in the U.S. Marine Corps, Marsalis returned to
New Orleans and married New Orleanian Dolores Ferdinand who bore
him six sons: Branford, Wynton, Ellis III, Delfeayo, Mboya, and
Jason.
Marsalis became New Orleans' leading jazz educator. He
became a lecturer at Xavier University and an adjunct teacher at
Loyola University. Marsalis enrolled in the graduate program at
Loyola University and graduated with a Master's of Music
Education.
Marsalis' teaching career flowered at the New Orleans Center
for Creative Arts (NOCCA). Many of his former students are
professional musicians locally as well as internationally. Three
of his six sons -- Branford, Wynton, and Delfeayo -- as well as
trumpeter Terence Blanchard, saxophonist Donald Harrison and
pianist Hannry Connick, Jr. have since attained worldwide
acclaim with recording contracts on major labels. Youngest son
Jason has emerged as an important drummer on the local and
national music scene. He is both a bandleader and frequently
holds chair in the Marcus Roberts ensembles.
Marsalis has made numerous appearances on television's Today
Show, the Tonight Show, with both Carson and Leno, and on the
Arsenio Hall Show.
The winner of several awards, Marsalis and New Orleans
singer/actress Joanne Creighton (AKA Lady BJ) shared honors at
the 1984 Ace Awards for the best single music program on cable
television. In 1986 Marsalis accepted a position at Virginia
Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA) as Coordinator of Jazz
Studies. Three years later he would return to New Orleans to
occupy a chair endowed by the Coca Cola Company and become
Director of the Jazz Studies Division at the University of New
Orleans.
In 1989 Marsalis was honored by Dillard University, the site
of his undergraduate studies, with an honorary Doctorate of
Music.
Marsalis continues to occupy the Coca Cola Jazz Chair as
Director of the Jazz Studies Division at the University of New
Orleans. |
