Sheila Johnson and Brandford Marsalis
Location: The Kennedy Center
WL SPONSORED – Photos by Kyle Samperton
ALL THAT JAZZ: On the closing night of the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, which included 100 performances in nearly 50 venues across the city, Ellis Marsalis and sons Branford, Wynton, Delfeayo, and Jason, as well as close family friend Harry Connick Jr. and the Kennedy Center’s Billy Taylor, turned Washington into a slice of New Orleans. CELEBRATING A MASTER: Ellis Marsalis: The tribute to the great musician brought the very talented family to Washington to honor their legendary father with family tales, incredible music, and poems read by son Ellis Marsalis III. And when the second encore had Harry Connick Jr. and the entire Marsalis family parading and playing down the aisles with cowbells, trumpets, and even an umbrella, the sold-out crowd was on its feet dancing in front of the stage and following the musicians grooving across the theater. PLAYING ALONG: Chair of the DEJF Ovation Society Sheila Johnson, honorary chair Thomas Hale Boggs, founder and executive producer of the DEJF Charles Fishman, Sunny Sumter, and Steven Stolman.
