
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, September 16, 1994                   TAG: 9409160029
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ELDER MARSALIS AT THE CENTER OF JAZZ WORLD

Everyone knows his famous sons, Wynton and Branford, but not everyone knows that Ellis Marsalis is a respected jazz player in his own right who has taught and influenced a generation of jazz musicians beyond his famous namesakes.

As a teacher at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, a public arts high school, the elder Marsalis taught an impressive list of students who have graduated to leading roles in the jazz world.

They include: Terence Blanchard, Harry Connick Jr., Donald Harrison, Kent and Marlon Jordan, and Nicholas Payton, not to mention Wynton and Branford and a third son, Delfeayo.

Marsalis, 59, also has enjoyed a long career as a jazz piano player and recording artist. His trio will play in concert Saturday night at Martinsville High School. The show is to promote his current album, "Whistle Stop."

His professional career began in high school in New Orleans where he first played saxophone, the primary instrument now of Branford, the band leader on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno. He switched to piano in college.

During a stint with the Marines, he auditioned for a television show sponsored by the Marine Corps. His job was to accompany various guest singers on piano. After the Marines, he knocked around jazz clubs in New Orleans.

In 1967, he joined Dixieland trumpeter Al Hirt's band and appeared on the "Today Show," "The Mike Douglas Show," "The Ed Sullivan Show" and "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson. At the same time, he began teaching music on an adjunct basis at Xavier University, which led to teaching at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.

Marsalis became the coordinator of jazz studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond in 1986 but returned to New Orleans in 1989 to head up the jazz studies program at the University of New Orleans.

Since 1983, he also has served as a panelist, grants evaluator and board member for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Southern Arts Foundation.

"Whistle Stop" is a collaboration with Branford and Branford's bass player and drummer. The album was produced by Delfeayo, a jazz record producer and trumpet player, and also features a fourth son, Jason, playing the drums on several tracks.

ELLIS MARSALIS: Martinsville High School, 7:30 p.m., Saturday. Tickets, $10 and $5. Call 632-3221.

by CNB