August 15, 2010
Today’s first family of jazz, the Marsalises, don’t often get together, at least on stage. But when the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival in Washington, D.C. (now the DC Jazz Festival), gave its 2009 lifetime achievement award to family father Ellis Marsalis — a great pianist and legendary educator — all four of his music-playing sons (Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo and Jason) joined him on stage. Ellis Marsalis III also recited an original poem for his father, frequent collaborators Herlin Riley and Eric Revis played, Dr. Billy Taylor joined in the fun, and family friend Harry Connick Jr. took a few guest spots, too. Read the entire article and listen to the album here.
