Ellis Marsalis Jr. dead at 85; fought coronavirus |
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Posted: 02 Apr 2020 at 4:40am |
Musician's pneumonia brought on by COVID-19, says son "Ellis Marsalis was a legend. He was the prototype of what we mean when
we talk about New Orleans jazz," said New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell. (Gerald Herbert/The Associated Press) Ellis Marsalis Jr., jazz pianist, teacher and patriarch of a New Orleans musical clan that includes famed performer sons Wynton and Branford, has died after battling pneumonia brought on by the new coronavirus, one of his sons said late Wednesday. He was 85. Ellis Marsalis III confirmed in an Associated Press phone interview that his father's death was sparked by the virus that is causing the global pandemic. "Pneumonia was the actual thing that caused his demise. But it was pneumonia brought on by COVID-19," he said. He said he drove Sunday from Baltimore to be with his father as he was hospitalized in Louisiana, which has been hit hard by the outbreak. Others in the family spent time with him, too. Four of the jazz patriarch's six sons are musicians: Wynton,
trumpeter, is America's most prominent jazz spokesman as artistic
director of jazz at New York's Lincoln Center. Branford, saxophonist,
led The Tonight Show band and toured with Sting. Delfeayo, a trombonist,
is a prominent recording producer and performer. And Jason, a
percussionist, has made a name for himself with his own band and as an
accompanist. Ellis III, who decided music wasn't his gig, is a
photographer-poet in Baltimore. In a statement, New Orleans
Mayor LaToya Cantrell said of the man who'd continued to perform
regularly in New Orleans until December: "Ellis Marsalis was a legend.
He was the prototype of what we mean when we talk about New Orleans
jazz. He was a teacher, a father, and an icon — and words aren't
sufficient to describe the art, the joy and the wonder he showed the
world." Because Marsalis opted to stay in New Orleans for most
of his career, his reputation was limited until his sons became famous
and brought him the spotlight, along with new recording contracts and
headliner performances on television and tour. "He was like the
coach of jazz. He put on the sweatshirt, blew the whistle and made these
guys work," said Nick Spitzer, host of public radio's American Routes
and a Tulane University anthropology professor. Ellis Marsalis Jr., jazz pianist, teacher and patriarch of a
New Orleans musical clan, died after battling pneumonia brought on by
the new coronavirus, one of his sons said late Wednesday. (Gerald Herbert/The Associated Press) The Marsalis "family band" seldom played together when the boys
were younger but in 2003 toured East in a spinoff of a family
celebration that became a PBS special when the elder Marsalis retired
from teaching at the University of New Orleans. Harry Connick
Jr., one of Marsalis' students at the New Orleans Center for the
Creative Arts, was a guest. He's one of many now-famous jazz musicians
who passed through Marsalis' classrooms. Others include trumpeters
Nicholas Payton and Terence Blanchard, saxophonists Donald Harrison and
Victor Goines, and bassist Reginald Veal. Marsalis was born in
New Orleans, son of the operator of a hotel where Marsalis met touring
black musicians who couldn't stay at the segregated downtown hotels
where they performed. He played saxophone in high school; he also played
piano by the time he went to Dillard University. Although New
Orleans was steeped in traditional jazz, and rock 'n' roll was the new
sound in the 1950s, Marsalis preferred bebop and modern jazz. On Wednesday night, Ellis III recalled how his father taught him the meaning of integrity before he even knew the word. He
and Delfeayo, neither of them yet 10, had gone to hear their father
play at a club. Only one man — sleeping and drunk — was in the audience
for the second set. The boys asked why they couldn't leave. "He
looked at us and said, `I can't leave. I have a gig.' While he's
playing, he said, 'A gig is a deal. I'm paid to play this set. I'm going
to play this set. It doesn't matter that nobody's here.' " Marsalis' wife, Dolores, died in 2017. He is survived by his sons Branford, Wynton, Ellis III, Delfeayo, Mboya and Jason. from www.cbc.ca |
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