Ellis Marsalis Jr., famed jazz family’s patriarch, has died at 85 of COVID-19 complications, son says
New Orleans — Ellis Marsalis Jr., jazz pianist, teacher and patriarch of a New Orleans musical clan that includes famed performer sons Wynton and Branford, has died after battling pneumonia brought by the new coronavirus, one of his sons said late Wednesday. He was 85. Ellis Marsalis III confirmed in a phone interview with The…