Branford Marsalis is the new artistic director at New Orleans music center named for his father

By KEVIN McGILL
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Award-winning musician Branford Marsalis is taking on a new job in his hometown of New Orleans. Marsalis was named Tuesday as the new artistic director for the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, named for his late father. Ellis Marsalis was the patriarch of a family of accomplished New Orleans musicians that also includes trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. The Ellis Marsalis Center provides music and cultural education programs for young people and adults. It’s part of the Musicians’ Village, a housing development built in cooperation with Habitat for Humanity. Branford Marsalis and fellow New Orleans musician Harry Connick Jr. spearheaded its development after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.