New Orleans jazz legend pianist and ellis Marsalis Jr. dies of coronavirus complications

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Ellis Marsalis during a presentation in New Orleans on May 3, 2009.

(CNN) - Ellis Marsalis Jr., a New Orleans jazz legend, educator and father of four musical children, died Wednesday, Quint Davis, director emeritus of the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, told CNN. The pianist was 85 years old.

The cause of death was complications from covid-19, his son Branford Marsalis told The New York Times .

Ellis Marsalis was a legend. It was the prototype of what we mean when we talk about New Orleans jazz, "New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said in a statement released Wednesday night. “He was a teacher, a father, and an icon. Words are not enough to describe the art, the joy and the wonder that he showed the world. ”

Four of Marsalis' six children followed in his musical footsteps and established their own long-lasting careers in the industry. Her son Wynton is the manager and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, and winner of multiple awards. Her son Branford is a jazz saxophonist who has recorded albums with Sting, among others.

In addition to his own career as a pianist and jazz composer, Ellis Marsalis was also the first jazz instructor at the Center for Creative Arts in New Orleans and the first president of the jazz studies program at the University of New Orleans, according to the statement. by Cantrell.

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