November 29, 2005

Delfeayo Marsalis: On Tour with Minions Dominion
By Deardra Shuler, EURweb.com

Delfeayo Marsalis flashed an impish grin as he sat down for the interview. He had just finished his first set at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in New York City where he was in top form. Delfeayo is another slice of the great Marsalis talent pie and ranks second to the youngest in a family of top notch musicians that also include his father, Ellis Marsalis. Delfeayo touts his own personal best on the trombone however and does not need to take a back seat to any of his brothers. Of course this night he was in good company with heavy weights such as bassist Delbert Felix, alto-saxophonist Donald Harrison; drummer Ralph Peterson and piano great Mulgrew Miller rounding out the All-Stars performing that night as part of the Delfeayo Marsalis Quintet.

“ Delfeayo,” “D-e-l-f-e-a-y-o,” “DELL FEEEE YO!” utters Marsalis, pronouncing his name in various intonations and tempos at the onset of our interview. His face twists into a big smirk and his eyes sparkle with elfin delight. One can see immediately that Delfeayo Marsalis has a wonderful sense of humor and is a bit of a jokester.

Initially, Marsalis didn’t throw himself into the performance aspect of the music game. Instead, he involved himself in the engineering/producing end of the business. “The producer oversees the project and has to have more focus on the entire scope whereas the engineer is more concerned with the specific sound quality. For example, if I were listening to a recording, I might suggest that it had too much bass or had too much low end and the engineer would take care of that technical end of things,” explained Marsalis who produced his father Ellis Marsalis at the age of 17. In fact, that was his first producing project. “I produced Syndrome for my Dad. I also produced the London tenor-saxophonist Courtney Pine. After him, Harry Connick, Jr., then Marcus Roberts, my brother Wynton, Donald Harrison and Terrence Blanchard. I followed that up with a couple of movie scores for Spike Lee” said the talented producer who scored “Do The Right Thing,” “ Jungle Fever,” and “Mo Better Blues.” Delfeayo, in fact, can boast of a producing career which has resulted in the production of over 75 major label recordings. The young musician also includes among his music scores, ABC’s mini-series “Moon Over Miami,” the off-Broadway production “Girl Gone,” and Tennessee Williams’ plays Streetcar Named Desire and Glass Menagerie” as presented by the New Orleans Ballet. He is also the founder of The Uptown Music Theatre which provides junior high and high school students with music theatre training.

A native of New Orleans, the young trombonist, took up the instrument at the age of 13. He continued his studies in high school at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and later followed his musical interest to Berklee College of Music where he studied performance and production. Delfeayo also holds a Masters degree in jazz performance from the University of Louisville.

“ My skills as a producer actually developed early which is really the reverse from what most people do. Most artists generally perform, arrange, engineer, and then produce later on in life. But I kind of did it backwards. I think I did it that way more so due to practical application then anything else” remarked the mirthful performer. “My brother Wynton needed someone to make the audition tapes for them. I was a kid in the 6th or 7th grade and around the house a lot, so I just started to record for them. At that time, I guess I would be considered an engineer because I had the microphone. I followed that phase of my life for awhile and I experimented. However, I now think its time for my second career, my second life,” stated Delfeayo of the new course he has plotted out for himself.

Delfeayo interest in the trombone was inspired by J.J. Johnson, the legendary trombonist who died in 2001, and who was considered one of the world’s greatest trombone players. Johnson played with the likes of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie and Miles Davis. Delfeayo himself performed with Ray Charles, Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Abdullah Ibrahim, and Elvin Jones’ Jazz Machine. His latest project is “Minions’ Dominion.” “ Minions Dominion” is a quirky title. I kind of like it because it’s catchy.” Stated the gifted musician whose CD is made up of predominately original material. “The album consists of two standards and five originals. I am dedicating this album to the late Elvin Jones because he is basically the mastermind behind it” explained the young artist.

The Delfeayo Marsalis Quintet consists of his brother Jason on drums; Delbert Felix on Bass, Clarence Johnson on tenor saxophone (who was featured in the movie “Ray”). The piano chair hasn’t been filled and thus far features guest pianists. “I am delighted to have Mulgrew presently because he is such a phenomenal player and seasoned artist.” explained Mr. Marsalis.

Delfeayo spoke of his beloved hometown. “I can’t conjecture how long it might take New Orleans to come back to its former self, if it ever does. However, New Orleans is a survivalist city much like jazz is a surviving music. I think both will survive but I will just take a wait and see attitude for now” states the hopeful performer.

Houston, San Diego, and Los Angeles are next on the Minions Dominion tour. However, Delfeayo is already looking ahead to his next project which he plans to entitle “Don’t Be Afraid of the Blues.”

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