“Ellis Marsalis” by gamelaner is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Ellis Marsalis, Jr. has died at the age of 85. His legacy as a performer, teacher and patriarch of one of the great musical families in jazz is immeasurable. Marsalis was a mentor to a Who’s Who of jazz luminaries: Terence Blanchard, Donald Harrison Jr., Harry Connick Jr., Nicholas Payton, Kent Jordan, Marlon Jordan, Victor Goines, and Jon Batiste. Four of his sons have become jazz notables in their own right: Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo and Jason Marsalis.
We have an interview with Marsalis and it’s ready for broadcast and streaming right now. Navigate to the Listen menu and scroll to find Ellis Marsalis Jr.
MIO host Gwen Thompkins talked about Ellis Marsalis with NPR’s Rachel Martin for Morning Edition:
Though mentored many famous names in jazz,, Marsalis saw himself more as a facilitator than an educator:
EM: “…if you can facilitate the student through the material that you use to teach and recommend – ’cause a lot of stuff you recommend are things that you may not have on the spot if we are talking about music. You can tell a student, “Look, what you need to do, you need to go listen to standards.” Now, here is somebody who has been spending all their time trying to play like John Coltrane, so you say, “Hey man, that is okay, but you need to go and check out Sonny Rollins.” Become more like a facilitator.”
