An Evening with Ellis Marsalis & his Quartet

Overview

When the subject of jazz comes up these days, the name Marsalis is soon sure to follow. Brothers Branford, Wynton, Delfeayo, and Jason have all reached international fame. But before they found success, their father Ellis was shaping his own career as a jazz pianist and composer. Ellis Marsalis is regarded by many as the premier modern jazz pianist in New Orleans, performing with his Quartet, and developing his own recording label - ELM RECORDS - with his wife and son Jason.

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Related Sites

• Ellis Marsalis Official Web Site

Program

About the Artists

To many, he is the patriarch of America's most celebrated jazz family. But to those who've heard him play, he's a talent not to be overlooked.
Ellis Marsalis is one of the most respected among the New Orleans-based jazz artists. A former Marine, he played the circuit in New Orleans before hooking up with Ornette Coleman. Over the years, Marsalis built an extensive resume as musician, professor of music and, of course, father to Wynton, Branford, Ellis III, Delfeayo, Miboya and Jason. Now, Marsalis leads a quartet
Ellis Marsalis is regarded by many as the premier modern jazz pianist in New Orleans. Born on November 14, 1934, he began formal music studies at the Xavier University junior school of music at age eleven. After high school Marsalis enrolled in Dillard University (New Orleans) as a clarinet major. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music education in 1955.
Between 1966 and 1974 Marsalis would perform at the Playboy Club (New Orleans), in the Al Hirt night club, Lu and Charles night club and enter the teaching profession again as an adjunct professor at Xavier University (New Orleans).
While the family continued to grow Marsalis, decided to return to school in the early summer session of 1974 working towards a Masters Degree at Loyola University (New Orleans). Marsalis would also interview for a teaching position at a new Magnet school for the arts. his interview was successful and he was hired in the Fall semester at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts(1974) high school. He would spend the next twelve years at NOCCA as an instrumental music teacher with a Jazz studies emphasis. Many leading jazz artists today -- alto saxophonist Donald Harrison, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, pianist Harry Connick, Jr. -- studied at the CCA with Ellis. It should come to no surprise that his sons Wynton Jason, Delfeayo, and Branford also attended the Center.
In 1986 Marsalis accepted the position of Commonwealth Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. He would spend two of the three years as coordinator of Jazz Studies before returning to New Orleans and the University of New Orleans to become the first occupant of the CocaCola endowed chair of Jazz Studies as the director.
Marsalis has been the recipient of Honorary Doctorate degrees from his alma mater Dillard University, (1989) and Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana (1997).
On August 10, 2001 Marsalis officially retired from the University of New Orleans after twelve years as the first occupant of the CocaCola Jazz Chair and the Director of the Jazz Studies Division.
Marsalis has acquired an impressive resume of recordings both as a leader and in accompaniment of his famous sons. For his latest project, Marsalis has started his own label ELM Records, and has finished a tribute album called "An Open Letter to Thelonious Monk".
He continues to perform locally in his city of New Orleans.

 

Jason Stewart Biography

Jason Stewart started playing the bass at age 17 in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana. He was introduced to Jazz at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, a high school for the arts, where he studied with New Orleans trumpeter Clyde Kerr Jr. and New Orleans bassist Bill Huntington. After high school he performed regularly with many New Orleans musicians while persuing a degree in Communications from Tulane University, musicians such as Nicholas Payton, Ellis, Jason, and Delfeayo Marsalis, Leroy Jones, Shannon Powell, and Victor Goines, among others. After getting his bachelor's from Tulane he continued to persue a career in music and in 2000 he moved to New York City. By the end of 2001 Jason moved back to New Orleans but continued to spend much time in New York. From 2001 to 2005 he continued to play occasionally in the groups of Nicholas Payton, as well as freelancing around New Orleans. After Hurricane Katrina hit the crescent city, Jason spent six months helping his family pick up the pieces and then moved back to Brooklyn where he lives now. He continues to work with many New York and New Orleans musicians alike (going frequently to New Orleans to get a taste of home) and continues to play in the Ellis Marsalis Quartet. He currently studies in a post-graduate program at the Juilliard school of music in New York City and with bassist Ron Carter.

LEON ANDERSON, JR., Associate Professor and Director of Jazz Studies, joined the Florida State University faculty in 1998. His musical experience includes that of a classical and jazz percussionist, educator, clinician, and composer. Mr. Anderson received the B.A. degree in Music Education at Louisiana Tech University and in 1996 completed the M.A. degree in Percussion Performance at Southeastern Louisiana University. His mentors have included Ellis Marsalis and Victor Goines of the New Orleans jazz scene. Mr. Anderson currently teaches drum set, jazz ensembles, and rhythm section methods at the FSU College of Music.
In 1997 Mr. Anderson was a featured soloist with The Marcus Roberts Trio, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl, and at the "Great Saxophone Legends" concert at the Jacksonville Jazz Festival. As a soloist he has also performed with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. His most recent engagements include performances with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra and the National Orchestra de France, conducted by Seiji Ozawa. His professional recordings include Victor Goines' Joe's Blues (1998), To Those We Love So Dearly (1999), and Sunrise to Midnight (2000); Marcus Roberts' Cole After Midnight Vol. I, (1998); Five By Design's Club Swing (2001); Richie Summa's Tear It Down (2001); and Etienne Charles' Culture Shock (2006). His professional collaborations include performances with numerous artists: David Sanchez, Red Holloway, Donald Brown, Wynton Marsalis, Mike Wolf, Nathen Page, Allan Harris, Stephanie Nakasien, Phyllis Hyman, Barry Greene, Dianne Reeves, Harold Batiste, Donald Harrison, Mary Stallings, Judy Collins, Wessell Anderson, Wycliffe Gordon, Kent Jordan, Oliver Lake, James Moody, Deborah Brown, Rufus Reid, Henry Mancini, Art Farmer, Jason Marsalis, and the Temptations, to name only a few.
Mr. Anderson currently performs and tours internationally with Marsalis, Goines, Walter Payton and the Snapbean Band, and the Third Coast Jazz Quintet. In addition to these ensembles, he has also performed at the International Association of Jazz Education Conference with Bunky Green, Ellis Maraslis and the New Orleans Jazz All-Stars, and has served as an artist/clinician for several jazz festivals in the United States, including the Bill Evans Jazz Festival, Savannah Music Festival, Loyola University (New Orleans) Jazz Festival, Governor's Honors Jazz Camp, Broward County All-City Jazz Ensemble, the "Jazz in the Schools" program in Jacksonville, FL, and serves as director for the FSU High School Jazz Festival. His festival commitments outside the United States are numerous and include the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy, the Inglostadt Jazztage, in Inglostadt, Bavaria, the Switzerland Jazz Festival in Basel, Switzerland, and the North Sea Jazz Festival. Anderson has also been featured in a review of the jazz composition "Afro Blue" for the text Teaching Music Through Jazz (December, 2007) and an article entitled "JazzEd Scene," by Steve MacQueen, published in Research and Review (Vol. XIV, No. III, Fall, 2004).

Roman Skakun
"Roman Skakun is a serious and dedicated musician of the highest caliber. He has big ears and sophisticated taste, and he will be one of the most important voices on the vibraphone in the 21st century." Such a revelation, coming from renowned pianist Aaron Goldberg, indicates that much can be expected from this young vibraphonist. After attending a performing arts high school (HSPVA) in Houston, Skakun re-located to New Orleans in order to pursue further musical studies. During that year, Skakun immersed himself in New Orleans' musical culture, aquatinting himself with many musicians who have since proven to be vital to his career.

Though studied in music from the age of seven, and given a solid foundation in school, Skakun's musical education really began with Ellis Marsalis. "I used to go to Ellis' gig every week and stay for the whole set and listen. That's how I learned - the way you're supposed to, not just from a book or in a class".

Within days of moving to New York in 2003, Skakun was incorporated into the scene revolving around Smalls, a key venue. Skakun would soon bring his own groups there, which included musicians such as Greg Tardy, Miguel Zenon, and Aaron Goldberg. An important benefit of the Smalls community was the vibrant bebop scene it fostered. Central figures in this part of Skakun's development were guitarist Ilya Lushtak and saxophonist Grant Stewart, who helped to exhibit the ideology of bebop to Skakun, and to expose him to the teaching of Barry Harris.

In 2007, Skakun answered Ellis Marsalis' call, and moved back to New Orleans, where he has since been working steadily with Marsalis and other well-known musicians. He is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Composition from the University of New Orleans.

Skakun is also currently recording a drummer-less trio album, featuring the music of Oscar Peterson's first Trio, due out later this year.