Marsalis Music is a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based record label founded in 2002 by saxophonist Branford Marsalis, one of the most celebrated jazz musicians of the past 30 years. The label was formed to allow Marsalis and other musicians to document their music free of the commercial constraints imposed by other record labels. In its first six years of operations, Marsalis Music has issued 19 compact discs and three DVDs, drawing from a roster that includes Marsalis and his quartet, the bands of Miguel Zenón, Doug Wamble, Claudia Acuña, Joey Calderazzo and (for instrumental music only) Harry Connick, Jr. All of the label’s artists have substantially expanded upon their performances with lectures, clinics and other presentations designed to bring players and listeners more directly into the music. Vocalist Claudia Acuña is the most recent signing, and will released her first disc, En Este Momento on the label in 2009.
The label’s catalogue also includes the special projects The Marsalis Family: A Jazz Celebration, the only recorded performance of the entire Marsalis family (father Ellis, sons Branford, Wynton, Delfeayo and Jason), and Romare Bearden Revealed, a tribute to the visual artist created in conjunction with a traveling exhibition of his work curated by the National Gallery in Washington, D.C.
In 2006, the label inaugurated the Honors Series in order to pay tribute to underappreciated veteran musicians. The series has featured drummers Michael Carvin, Jimmy Cobb and Bob French and the late clarinetist Alvin Batiste.
Marsalis Music has also sponsors the Marsalis Jams program through its non-profit affiliate Music Education Initiative, Inc. Marsalis Jams brings working ensembles to high school and college campuses throughout the United States 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 Habitat 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. Musicians’ Village will also be the site of the Ellis Marsalis Center for the Arts, a cultural resource for the village and the wider community.
Marsalis Music receives distribution and marketing support both in the United States and internationally from Redeye Distribution.
Contents |