Ellis, an intimate documentary on the late beloved Ellis Marsalis Jr. will make its New Orleans premiere next month at the New Orleans Jazz Museum. German filmmaker Sascha Just, who befriended the jazz pianist during one of her many trips to the city, turned teaching music into a Civil Rights Act and mentored a generation of top musicians while changing modern jazz. The film has screened at Doc NYC Fest and most recently at The American Documentary Film Festival in Palm Springs. The film chronicles how the performer, composer, and educator transcended racial injustices he faced from his childhood during segregation to his death from COVID 19.
OffBeat spoke to Just in 2020, during the fundraising phase of the Ellis Marsalis documentary film, about the musician’s outlook on life. “With one sentence he could say something really wonderful and be so insightful and funny. That was it — just one sentence. I loved how involved he got when he speaks of things he is interested in and how in depth he could go into about these things. Even though I am not a musician he became a role model on how to pursue something…to stick with it and go with what you love,” stated the filmmaker, who resides in New York.
The film includes interviews with Ellis’s sons Wynton, Branford, Ellis III, Delfeayo, and Jason as well as Ellis’s last concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center in NYC. Featuring never-before-seen historic footage, the film also contains a solo concert performed by the elder Marsalis exclusively for the film.
Ellis will make its New Orleans premiere Wednesday, May 3 at the New Orleans Jazz Museum, 400 Esplanade Avenue. The event will kick off with a live performance from Jason Marsalis and the E-Quintet followed by the screening at 7:30 p.m.
Snug Harbor will screen the documentary the following night, Thursday, May 4. The historic Frenchmen Street music club where Ellis held court as bandleader weekly for over 30 years will host a one-day multi-media celebration of the music, life and legacy of Ellis Marsalis Jr, the “E-Day Festival” featuring an intimate, limited-capacity premiere screening of Just’s film, and two live musical tributes to Ellis led by Jason Marsalis with members of E’s last band. The Snug Harbor screening will host an opening reception and cocktail hour from 5-6 p.m., including a meet and greet with the filmmaker and Jason Marsalis, and some of Ellis’s band members, while ticketing and seating take place. The 6 p.m. screening will be followed by two live concerts led by Jason Marsalis and members of the E-Quintet, ticketed separately, at 9 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Tickets for the Snug Harbor screening are $10 in advance or $15 at the door. Tickets for each of the live performances are $40, or an advance bundle package of $50 for film plus one concert. Snug Harbor states seating is very limited, advance tickets for all presentations are strongly suggested. Tickets for each presentation can be purchased at http://SnugJazz.com
