New Orleans music giant Ellis Marsalis has passed away.
Marsalis recorded numerous albums, and was first chair of jazz studies program at the University of New Orleans and an educator of jazz music at NOCCA for many years, mentoring other great musicians, including Harry Connick, Jr. Marsalis had six sons, four of whom would go on to have successful careers of their own as jazz musicians.
Mayor Latoya Cantrell sad of Marsalis in a statement:
“Ellis Marsalis was a legend. He was the prototype of what we mean when we talk about New Orleans jazz. The love and the prayers of all of our people go out to his family, and to all of those whose lives he touched. He was a teacher, a father, and an icon — and words aren’t sufficient to describe the art, the joy and the wonder he showed the world. This loss cuts us deeply. May we wrap his family in our love and our gratitude, and may we honor his memory by coming together in spirit — even as the outbreak keeps us apart, for a time.”
Marsalis’ cause of death has not yet be released. He was 85.
