Jazz legend Ellis Marsalis Jr. has died after battling pneumonia brought on by the coronavirus.
The pianist, who was 85, was the patriarch of a New Orleans musical family and a celebrated musician in his own right.
The news was announced by his son Ellis Marsalis III, who confirmed that his dad’s death was brought about by coronavirus.
His death on Wednesday came just hours after Fountains of Wayne singer Adam Schlesinger died after contracting also coronavirus.
The musician, who was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1934, was active on the music scene since the late 1940s.
Jazz legend Ellis Marsalis Jr. (left) has died after battling pneumonia brought on by the coronavirus (Image: Getty Images North America)
However, he came to greater attention in the 1980s and 1990s.
Although he recorded almost twenty of his own albums, and was featured on many discs with such musicians as David “Fathead” Newman, Eddie Harris, Marcus Roberts, and Courtney Pine, the musician has shunned the spotlight to focus on teaching.
He was a leading educator at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, the University of New Orleans, and Xavier University of Louisiana – influencing the careers of countless musicians, as well as his four musician sons: Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo and Jason.
The musician recorded almost twenty of his own albums (Image: Getty Images)
Son Branford is an American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader, who has worked with the likes of Sting.
His other son Wynton Learson Marsalis is also virtuoso trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Wynton has been awarded nine Grammy Awards and his Blood on the Fields was the first jazz composition to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Marsalis is the only musician to win a Grammy Award in jazz and classical during the same year.
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