Located in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music uses music as the focal point of a holistic strategy to build a healthy community and to deliver a broad range of services to underserved children, youth, and musicians from neighborhoods battling poverty and social injustice. The Center is a safe and supportive environment where children and youth develop musically, academically, and socially; where local musicians perform, record, and develop professionally; and where the community gathers. The Center also serves as a community resource and a catalyst for cultural preservation.

Ellis Marsalis, Jr., was a celebrated jazz musician, recording artist, educator, and father. He is also the namesake and the Center’s first artistic director. Mr. Marsalis established a standard of excellence for classroom instruction and student performance. He was a powerful presence, representing the rigor and respect world-class music education demands while also projecting warmth, offering guidance, and sending a message to each and every student that they mattered. The Ellis Marsalis Center serves as a living memorial to him.