In celebration of their first-ever recording and tour as a family, Ellis Marsalis and Sons will bring The Marsalis Family: A Jazz Celebration to The Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall, making Philadelphia one of just five U.S. stops on their exclusive eight-city tour.
For years attempts have been made to bring this first family of jazz together. It was not until Ellis Marsalis’s retirement from teaching duties at the University of New Orleans in August 2001 that father and sons played together in an historic concert. So inspired by each other’s presence, they decided to record and tour as a family. The Marsalis Family: A Jazz Celebration is scheduled to be released February 4, followed by a PBS special on February 20. The family hits the road February 23, making stops in Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal in Canada, and Schenectady, Syracuse, Newark, Philadelphia and Boston in the United States.
A brilliant pianist, composer and educator, Ellis Marsalis is patriarch to both his own family of jazz giants and, through his example and teaching, several generations of young and influential jazz artists. Joining their father, and performing at The Kimmel Center for the second time, will be brothers Branford on saxophone and Wynton on trumpet, both of whom were part of The Kimmel Center’s inaugural season. Youngest brothers Delfeayo on trombone and Jason on drums will make their Kimmel Center debuts. Reginald Veal, bass player for the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, rounds out the ensemble.
Tickets for the Ellis Marsalis and Sons performance on Sunday, March 2 at 8 p.m. are $22, $34, $47, $63 and $77.
Five days later, Sonny Rollins, one of the legends of bop, will make his Kimmel Center debut. At an age when most musicians would be content to tread water, the 72-year-old tenor saxophonist enters his sixth decade as a professional musician still reinventing himself. His recent release This is What I Do won a Grammy in 2002 for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. Rollins is credited, along with John Coltrane, with spearheading the hard bop movement in the fifties. His remarkable career has seen him partner with the A-list of jazz including Thelonius Monk, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Percy Heath and Dizzy Gillespie.
Tickets for the Sonny Rollins performance on Friday, March 7 at 8 p.m. are $19, $30, $41, $55 and $67.
Tickets for all Kimmel Center Presents performances are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at A HREF=http://www.kimmelcenter.org>www.kimmelcenter.org or at The Kimmel Center box office, open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and later on performance evenings. For group sales call 215-790-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets will be available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance. These $10 tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the box office beginning at 5:30 p.m. for evening performances and 11:30 a.m. for matinees. Limit one per person.
