Ellis Louis Marsalis Jr.(November 14, 1934 - April 1, 2020) is a jazz pianist and educator. Active since the late 1940s, he came to greater attention in the 1980s and 1990s as the patriarch of a musical family, with sons Branford Marsalis and Wynton Marsalis rising to international acclaim. He and his wife Delores Ferdinand have six sons: Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Ellis Marsalis III, Delfeayo Marsalis, Mboya Kinyatta Marsalis, and Jason Marsalis. He played saxophone but moved to the piano in high school. He worked with Ed Blackwell, Cannonball Adderley, Nat Adderley, and Al Hirt. He taught at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. His students have included Terence Blanchard, Harry Connick Jr., Donald Harrison, Kent Jordan, Marlon Jordan, and Nicholas Payton. Though he has recorded almost twenty of his albums and was featured on many discs with such musicians as David "Fathead" Newman, Eddie Harris, Marcus Roberts, and Courtney Pine, he shunned the spotlight to focus on teaching. His didactic approach, combined with an interest in philosophy, encourages his students to make discoveries in music on their own, through experiments and very careful listening. As a leading educator at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, the University of New Orleans, and the Xavier University of Louisiana, he has influenced the careers of countless musicians, including Terence Blanchard, Harry Connick Jr., Nicholas Payton; as well as his four musician sons: Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo and Jason. He received an honorary doctorate from Tulane University for his contributions to jazz and musical education. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence #phibetasigma https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck8J02QrVL0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
