School of Rock
Random article All articles A–Z
2 languages

Ellis Marsalis

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Ellis Marsalis Jr. was an American jazz pianist and teacher, born in 1934 in New Orleans. His father was a businessman and activist. At secondary school he played tenor saxophone and piano, and performed with an R&B band. He then served a year in the Marine Corps, mainly as a pianist, and studied at Dillard University. In the 1950s and 1960s he played with Ed Blackwell, Cannonball Adderley, Nat Adderley and Al Hirt. In the 1970s he taught at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.

Music and breakthrough

His students included Terence Blanchard, Harry Connick Jr. and Donald Harrison. He made almost twenty albums of his own, such as Friends and Solo Piano from 1991, Heart of Gold from 1992, Whistle Stop from 1994 and A Night at Snug Harbor, New Orleans from 1995. He also played on records by David Fathead Newman, Eddie Harris, Marcus Roberts and Courtney Pine. In the 1980s and 1990s he received more attention as the head of the Marsalis family, when his sons Branford and Wynton became famous jazz musicians. With his wife Dolores he had six sons, of whom Delfeayo and Jason also became jazz musicians. In 2011 he and his sons together received the NEA Jazz Masters Award.

Influence

As a teacher he said: we don't learn jazz, we learn music. He encouraged students to get to know the history and at the same time to make their own discoveries. In this way he gave New Orleans a new generation of jazz musicians. He was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2008, died in 2020 and in 2023 received a posthumous Grammy Trustees Award.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a recording of Ellis Marsalis on piano and notice how he leaves a lot of space with few notes. Can you hear the light, bluesy touch in his playing?

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

See also

Categories: Artists