Genre Jazz Official website www.marsalismusic.com Date founded 2002 | Country of origin U.S. Founder Branford Marsalis | |
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Location Cambridge, Massachusetts Albums Braggtown, Footsteps of Our Fathers, Romare Bearden Revealed, Eternal, Chanson du Vieux Carré : C Profiles | ||
Marsalis Music is a jazz record label founded by Branford Marsalis in 2002.
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After 20 years with Columbia, saxophonist Branford Marsalis left to start his own label. Early musicians to the label included Miguel Zenón, a Puerto Rican saxophonist, Doug Wamble, a guitarist from Tennessee, and Harry Connick Jr., who, like the Marsalis family, is from New Orleans.
The catalogue includes The Marsalis Family: A Jazz Celebration, and Music Redeems, the only recorded performances of the father and sons together (father Ellis with sons Branford, Wynton, Delfeayo, and Jason). The catalogue also includes Romare Bearden Revealed, a tribute to the visual artist created in conjunction with a traveling exhibition of his work curated by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
In 2006, the label inaugurated the Honors Series to pay tribute to underappreciated musicians. The series has featured Michael Carvin, Jimmy Cobb, Bob French, and Alvin Batiste.
Marsalis Music sponsors the Marsalis Jams program through its non-profit affiliate, Music Education Initiative. Marsalis Jams brings working ensembles to high school and college campuses throughout the U.S. for mini-residencies that include workshops, performances and jam sessions. In 2008, the program began an ongoing affiliation with Berklee College, Marsalis Berklee Jams, which brings a leading ensemble of young professional musicians to the Berklee campus each semester.
The label has also been active in efforts to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Its major focus has been New Orleans Musicians' Village, a project in the city's Upper Ninth Ward that allows displaced musicians and other residents to own single-family homes and elder-friendly duplexes. The Musicians' Village is also the site of the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, a cultural resource for the village and the wider community. All proceeds from the sale of The Marsalis Family's Music Redeems goes directly to educational programming at the Ellis Marsalis Center.
Marsalis Music receives distribution and marketing support worldwide from Okeh Records.