Not every fan of jazz recognizes the name Delfeayo, but they all know his family name - Marsalis.
Like his famous brothers - he is No. 4 of six boys - Marsalis makes the music he grew up hearing in New Orleans. His instruments of choice? The trombone and the recording studio, where he is better known as a producer of acoustic jazz.
But Delfeayo’s career was also influenced by a brother who is less in the public eye - Mboya Kenyatta, who has autism.
Because Mboya was the fifth child and closest to Delfeayo in age, “he probably had a greater impact on me,” Marsalis says. His interest in students with challenges - “either emotionally or academically” - led him to his work with the Uptown Music Theatre in New Orleans, formed in 2000 on the concept of “community unity,” and its Kidstown After School, implemented in three New Orleans grammar schools in 2009. He has also composed more than 80 songs intended to help introduce kids to jazz.
Marsalis will play with a newly forming quintet at this weekend’s Jazz Eureka Festival.
“What I always like to do is take the audience on a journey of some sort,” he says. “We’ll start out swinging and see where it takes us from there.”
Whats Up, Pages 18 on 09/21/2012