NEW ORLEANS — The music world is mourning the loss of jazz master pianist Ellis Marsalis Jr.
His son Branford Marsalis said his father died from complications of COVID-19, The New York Times reported.
Ellis Marsalis had six sons, four of whom followed his career in music. Wynton Marsalis, who plays jazz trumpet, is the managing and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Branford Marsalis plays jazz saxophone, has recorded with Sting and was the band leader of “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" starting in 1992.
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Wynton Marsalis said his father was “the guiding force behind a late-20th-century resurgence in jazz.”
The New York Times said Ellis Marsalis left a legacy in the jazz world by teaching future stars the trade, including Terence Blanchard, Donald Harrison Jr., Nicholas Payton and Harry Connick Jr. who remembered the legend on social media.
Ellis Marsalis had been a staple for 30 years at Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro in New Orleans. He ended his shows in January, telling the club’s owner that it was too exhausting to play the two 75-minute sets every Friday night, USA Today reported.
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The club’s owner called him “a foundation pillar of the Snug Harbor musical legacy.”
Ellis Marsalis was 85.