"His layers of tone float through the room like clouds of cotton candy, gently shifting the color and tone of each note, carving and shaping them to perfection."
--Louisville Jazz Society

A quintet of heavy weights storms the Midwest when trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis brings drumming brother Jason, sax titan Donald Harrison, brother Branford’s long-time bassist Delbert Felix, and monster pianist Mulgrew Miller to the Kerrytown Concert Hall in Ann Arbor (September 23), Ripon College in Ripon, WI (September 24), and the Dakota in Minneapolis (September 25-26). Next month they will be at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola (Lincoln Center) for a six-night residency, October 4-9.

As the younger brother of Wynton and Branford, and son of Ellis Marsalis, Delfeayo couldn’t help but absorb the jazz and other traditions of his native New Orleans. He took up trombone at 13, attended high school at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, and went on to the Berklee College of Music to study performance and production. He received additional classical training through the Eastern Music Festival and Tanglewood Institute; he recently earned an MA degree in jazz performance from the University of Louisville.

A J.J. Johnson-inspired trombonist, he toured with Ray Charles, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Max Roach, Abdullah Ibrahim, and Elvin Jones' Jazz Machine. Deleayo has produced over 75 major label recordings (he produced his first at only 17), leading to several Grammy awards and nominations. As a composer of music scores, his works have included the backdrop for the ABC mini-series, Moon Over Miami, the documentaries Streetcar Mysteries and 112th & Central, an off-Broadway production Girl Gone, and the New Orleans Ballet presentations of Tennessee Williams’ Streetcar Named Desire and Glass Menagerie. As a committed jazz educator, he has served as Director of the Foundation for Artistic and Musical Excellence summer program in Lawrenceville, NJ, and founded the Uptown Music Theatre, created specifically to provide 8-12th grade youth with musical theatre training.

In 2005, Delfeayo presents the “Minions' Dominion” tour to promote his upcoming CD, recorded two years ago with the legendary late drummer Elvin Jones (one of the master’s last recordings), older sibling Branford on tenor sax, and bassist Robert Hurst, along with Miller and Harrison. Marsalis is also at work on “Blue Abstractions,” commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for a combined jazz and symphonic ensemble. His previous solo releases included Pontius Pilate’s Decision in 1992 and Musashi in 1997

Pianist Mulgrew Miller has enjoyed a thirty-year career atop the pool of pianists influenced by legendary Oscar Peterson. A veteran of the bands of Mercer Ellington, Betty Carter, Woody Shaw, Johnny Griffin, Art Blakey, and Tony Williams, the Mississippi native more recently has worked with Joe Lovano, Diane Reeves, Rene Marie, Steve Turre, Kenny Garrett, Joe Lovano, and Gary Burton as well as releasing two highly acclaimed “Live at Yoshi’s” recordings for MaxJazz. Generally he concentrates on his trio (with Derrick Hodge and Rodney Holmes) and his quintet, Wingspan.

“Music is always in motion,” notes the youngest Marsalis, Jason, and so too is Marsalis when he sits behind the drumkit. In addition to his jazz education in New Orleans, 28-year-old Jason has studied classical percussion at Loyola University and plays with such diverse musical groups as his father’s and Marcus Roberts’ mainstream jazz trios, Brazilian bands, even a Celtic ensemble. Additionally, he co-founded Los Hombres Caliente. Noted David A. Orthmann (All About Jazz), “Jason Marsalis is well on his way to becoming an exceptional jazz drummer. Recordings made over the past several years reveal a staggering array of technical skills and resources that are invariably applied to purely musical ends.”

Another New Orleans native and son of a Mardi Gras Chief, alto saxophonist Donald Harrison grew up under the influence of the local jazz scene and African traditions, which inform his work as an innovative performer and composer. He studied at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts with Ellis Marsalis before enrolling at Berklee (1979-1980). Early in his career he worked with Roy Haynes and Art Blakey, with whom he played as part of the Jazz Messengers in the 1980s. Harrison also cites Kidd Jordan as a critical influence in developing his skills and interest in avant garde music. Notes the Berklee College of Music, “Harrison is something of an entertainer in the New Orleans tradition, a polymath, in addition to being a superb saxophonist and composer. He's been known to dance and sing, even rap, a little!”

Bassist Delbert Felix is a native of St. Helena, SC. He played and recorded extensively with Branford Marsalis in the late 80s-90s, as well as with Ellis Marsalis. Recently Felix has been touring with drummer Quentin Baxter.

Delfeayo Marsalis’ “Minion’s Dominion” tour will take audiences, by the ears, on a sonic journey marked by the high level of musicianship and creativity that aptly describes each member of the ensemble. If you are in the neighborhood (Ann Arbor, Ripon, Minneapolis), be sure to hop on for the ride.

The Delfeayo Marsalis Quintet will play at the Kerrytown Concert House in Ann Arbor, MI at 8 and 10 pm on September 23^rd , www.kerrytownconcerthouse.com; on campus at Ripon College (Demmer Recital Hall), Ripon, WI at 7:30 pm on September 24^th; and at the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis, at 8 and 10 pm on September 25^th -26^th, www.dakotacooks.com. Next month, the Delfeayo Marsalis Quintet will be in residency at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center in Manhattan, October 4-9.