Ellis Marsalis, the New Orleans jazz pianist and patriarch of an accomplished family of musicians, has died. The Ellis Marsalis Center for Music confirmed his death to NBC News.
Branford Marsalis said his father died of COVID-19 complications. He was 85. Marsalis was the father of renowned musicians Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo, and Jason Marsalis; his grandson Slauson Malone (Jasper Marsalis) is a former member of Standing on the Corner.
He was a renowned educator and pianist who recorded multiple albums. “My dad was a giant of a musician and teacher, but an even greater father,” Branford Marsalis wrote. “He poured everything he had into making us the best of what we could be.
Read more on pitchfork.com