JASON MARSALIS
About the Artist

Jason Marsalis is the youngest son of pianist and music educator Ellis Marsalis, the father of one of America's most musical families. Marsalis began playing drums at the age of three but he began his formal musical training two years later on the violin. At age six, he began studying with the legendary drummer, James Black. After six years of studying both instruments, he finally dropped his violin studies and focused entirely on the drums. Marsalis spent his high school years at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, graduating in 1995. He then studied music at Loyola University in New Orleans.

Jason Marsalis has been an active and visible part of the New Orleans jazz scene for a number of years. He was a co-founder of the Latin jazz group, Los Hombres Calientes, and could generally be found playing somewhere around town with any number of diverse groups from his father's piano trio to the Brazilian group, Casa Samba, or a jazz fusion group (Neslort). After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Marsalis moved to Brooklyn, NY, but with the work finally completed on his home in 2007, you will find him back in New Orleans, playing the drums or the vibraphone somewhere around town.

Jason Marsalis has been privileged to work with many jazz luminaries such as Joe Henderson and Lionel Hampton.

He has had a long association with Marcus Roberts, dating back to 1987. Marsalis began performing regularly with Roberts in November of 1994 when he was 17. To prepare for his very first gig, he had to memorize all of the music from "Gershwin for Lovers". He played all the arrangements down without making any mistakes. Roberts knew then that this young man would be an anchor for his band. He has held the drum chair in the Marcus Roberts Trio since that time. Marsalis has been featured on all of Roberts' group recordings since 1995 - Portraits in Blue, Time and Circumstance, Blues for the New Millennium, In Honor of Duke, Cole After Midnight, New Orleans Meets Harlem and From Rags to Rhythm. Most recently, he was featured on Marcus Roberts' recording of Gershwin's Concerto in F for Piano and Orchestra with the Saito Kinen Festival Orchestra.

Jason Marsalis has also been instrumental to the development of the unique philosophy and style of the Marcus Roberts Trio. His style is characterized by strong, intricate modern grooves and creative syncopation. He uses the drums as not just an accompanying rhythm instrument but an important solo voice. He learns music thoroughly, and uses rhythm to bring out other important elements, especially harmony, in the music. He has perfect pitch, so if you need him to listen for a change in the music to any specific key, he can do it. He also has perfect rhythm, which means that he can keep many different tempos and time signatures in his head at the same time without getting lost.

Marsalis draws heavily from drum styles that are not traditionally associated with the jazz trio, such as Jo Jones, Max Roach, Elvin Jones, Roy Haynes, and Tony Williams, as well as the sounds and philosophy of the great trios of Errol Garner, Ahmad Jamal, Nat Cole, and Oscar Peterson. He has perhaps the strongest voice on his instrument in his generation. He has a strong sense of swing, a concept that is at the core of jazz music.

Marsalis has two recordings under his own name, The Year of the Drummer (1998) and Music in Motion (2000) as well as a number of recordings with other musicians.

Visit Jason Marsalis' Official Website at:
www.jasonmarsalis.com

RELATED LINKS

The Marcus Roberts Trio
Marcus Roberts, piano
Roland Guerin, bass

NOTES ON THE PROGRAM