Delfeayo Marsalis was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on July 28, 1965. He began studying trombone at age 13, and attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts high school. He was classicically trained at the Eastern Music Festival and Tanglewood Institute. In 1983, Delfeayo performed Gordon Jacob’s Trombone Concerto with the New Orleans Philharmonic and received the Outstanding Performance Award from the Jefferson Performing Arts Society for his presentation of Marcello’s Sonata #6.

After producing his first recording at age 17, Delfeayo attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music, majoring in both performance and audio production. He has since produced over 75 major-label recordings-several of which have received Grammy awards and nominations-including works by: Harry Connick, jr., Marcus Roberts, Spike Lee, Ellis, Branford and Wynton Marsalis. His production skills earned a 3M Visionary Award in 1996 and a cover article for the industry source, Mix magazine in 1997.

As a trombonist, Delfeayo has toured internationally with legendary jazz artists Art Blakey, Abdullah Ibrahim, Elvin Jones, Slide Hampton and Max Roach, as well as touring with his own modern jazz ensemble. During a tour with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, he was filmed as part of the Ken Burns documentary, ” Jazz.” A mainstay on the New Orleans modern jazz scene, he has released three solo albums to critical acclaim, Pontius Pilate’s Decision in 1992, Musashi in 1997, and Minions Dominion in September 2006. Along with late trombone master J.J. Johnson, several music reviewers have labeled Mr. Marsalis as one of the freshest modern voices on the instrument to arrive in the 90’s.

Delfeayo has been involved with educating youth in various developmental programs for several years. In 1993, his original D-Blues was commissioned by “Meet the Composer” for the Filmore Arts Center in Washington DC and in 1995 he lectured in public and parochial schools on behalf of both the Dallas Opera and the Bravo cable network. To further introduce young people to jazz music, he has served as director of the Foundation for Artistic and Musical Excellence summer program in Lawrenceville, NJ from 1998 to 2002.

In 2004, Delfeayo obtained an MA in jazz performance at the University of Louisville. In addition to implementing Uptown Music Theatre’s Kidstown AfterSchool in three New Olreans grammar schools in 2009, he will release a new cd entitled “Sweet Thunder,” an Ellington suite based upon the literary brilliance of William Shakespeare.

Back to the top