Ellis Marsalis, Jr. is regarded by many as New Orleans’s premier modern jazz pianist. He’s been performing professionally for over fifty years, recording almost twenty albums of his own and guesting on many others, but primarily, Marsalis has focused on education, teaching at the University of New Orleans, Xavier University in Louisiana, and the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts. His influence as a teacher can be heard in the music of Terence Blanchard, Harry Connick Jr. and Nicholas Payton – not to mention the careers of his four professional jazz-musician sons: Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo and Jason.
Get schooled with Ellis Marsalis on this episode of "Musician's Spotlight."
(Broadcast: "Musician's Spotlight," 11/16/17 and 3/22/18. Listen on the radio Thursdays, 7:30 p.m., or via podcast.)