The Marsalis Family News

The local beat goes on, familial-ly and festival-ly

By: Geraldine Wyckoff, Contributing Writer
The Louisiana Weekly
Monday, August 23, 2010

Intellectually, we are, of course, aware that the Marsalis family is chocked full of hugely talented musicians. Nonethe­less, when the emcee of this concert introduces each one of them by name — saxophonist Branford, trumpeter Wynton, trombonist Delfeayo, drummer/vibest Jason (in their birth order) and finally patriarch “maestro” Ellis Marsalis, one can’t help but marvel. Later, photographer/writer Ellis Marsalis III adds his voice to the mix.
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Submitted by Ben on August 24th, 2010 — 12:02pm

Marsalis family puts their talent to work for a good cause

Publication: USA Today
Author: Steve Jones
Date: August 20, 2010

The Marsalis family rarely plays together, but the brothers seized the opportunity to do so last summer in honor of 75-year-old patriarch/pianist Ellis Marsalis. All proceeds from a new jazz album capturing that exuberant event will help fund educational programming at a community center bearing his name in the Musicians’ Village in New Orleans.
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Submitted by Ben on August 19th, 2010 — 11:00pm

Music Redeems: It's impossible not to be charmed to pieces by this disc

Publication: The Buffalo News
Author: Jeff Simon
Date: August 8, 2010

The Marsalis Family, “Music Redeems” (Marsalis Music, on sale by Aug. 24). Irresistible. Consummate jazz show business recorded in concert at the Kennedy Center, from the opening salvo, family drummer Jason whistling, trading four-bar phrases with trumpet player Wynton and then merging with him on Charlie Parker’s “Donna Lee” before family patriarch Ellis — arguably the greatest father in jazz history — takes the kind of solo a pianist has to take when he’s in the company of musicians as fine as his sons.
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Submitted by Ben on August 19th, 2010 — 08:58am

The Marsalis Family on NPR's First Listen

Patrick Jarenwattananon

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.

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Submitted by Fan on August 16th, 2010 — 12:44pm

Marsalis Family announced as 2011 NEA Jazz Masters Award recipients

“It is with great pride and humility that I accept this award on behalf of the Marsalis family. The NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship Award has special meaning to me as I was a member of the jazz panel at the inception of this award and had the opportunity to cast subsequent votes for many of the surviving jazz giants during my tenure. At that time I had no idea that we would be so honored by the NEA and placed in the company of such an esteemed group of individuals.

I hope my sons and I continue to exemplify the quality of excellence in the work that is expected from the recipient of such an honor. I wish to thank all of those panel members who consider our family worthy of this award and assure them we will not disappoint them in the future.” - Ellis Marsalis for the Marsalis Family Read more »

Submitted by Bobby on August 10th, 2010 — 11:39am