ENTERTAINMENT
March 17, 1996 | Don Heckman and Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair),
three stars (good, recommended) and four stars (excellent).
A collection of romantic ballads performed by saxophone and piano, sans rhythm section, is not necessarily the stuff of which effective jazz recordings are made. Yet that's precisely the route that the father and the eldest son of the Marsalis clan (with production supervision from another brother, Delfeayo) have taken to arrive at one of the most appealing CDs of the year.
ENTERTAINMENT
February 23, 1990 | LEONARD FEATHER
The reputation of Ellis Marsalis, now well established in the jazz community, has been acquired, ironically, not through his contributions as a pianist, composer and educator, but vicariously through his achievements as a father. He is the father of six sons, two of whom, Wynton and Branford, are world-class names; two others, Delfeayo and 12-year-old Jason, seem destined for comparable musical success.
ENTERTAINMENT
June 14, 1998 | Don Heckman
It's hard to imagine who could challenge Ellis Marsalis' position as First Father of Jazz.
ENTERTAINMENT
May 26, 1991 | LEONARD FEATHER, Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to five (a classic)
*** Ellis Marsalis, "The Ellis Marsalis Trio," Blue Note. Borrowing bassist Bob Hurst and drummer Jeff Watts from son Branford, the Marsalis paterfamilias cruises pleasantly if unspectacularly through four well-crafted originals and several standards. The pianist comes closest to showing his true potential on the solo track, "I Thought About You."
ENTERTAINMENT
May 18, 1986 | LEONARD FEATHER
"HOMECOMING." Eddie Harris/Ellis Marsalis. Spindletop STP 105. The senior Marsalis, a long underrated pianist, teams with the veteran saxophonist in a set that finds them generally compatible. Marsalis' accompaniment to the solos by Harris is so buoyantly sensitive that one never misses the rhythm section.
ENTERTAINMENT
November 1, 1992
What in the world is Keith Jarrett bitching about? Anything that gets more straight-ahead jazz into the forefront has value. Jazz cannot be regarded as just a style of music for the past or present. To those of us who care, jazz must continually be perpetuated, and if "The Tonight Show" helps do the job, so be it. Anything to develop another generation of jazz artists and listeners is worth it, whether by personally reproducing them (thank you, Ellis Marsalis) or through their exposure to the medium (even on television)