Jazz Great Ellis Marsalis Jr. Dead at 85; Fought COVID-19, Says Son

Ellis Marsalis Jr., the jazz pianist, teacher and patriarch of a New Orleans musical clan, has died after battling pneumonia brought on by the CCP virus.

Ellis Marsalis during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, on April 28, 2019. Sophia Germer, File/AP Photo

Ellis Marsalis Jr., the jazz pianist, teacher and patriarch of a New Orleans musical clan, has died after battling pneumonia brought on by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, one of his six sons said late on April 1. He was 85.

“Pneumonia was the actual thing that caused his demise. But it was pneumonia brought on by COVID-19,” Ellis Marsalis III confirmed in an Associated Press phone interview.