Rodney Marsalis brings Christmas music, New Orleans spirit to Ravinia’s winter season

Ravinia, the Highland Park destination known for its outdoor summer concerts, will be getting into the festive spirit this year with holiday activities and a trio of seasonal shows including “WASSAIL! An Irish American Christmas” (featuring Apollo’s Fire) on Dec. 6, the Andrew Bird Trio on Dec. 7, and The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass to wrap things up on Dec. 8.

The finale, dubbed “A Very Brassy Christmas,” marks Marsalis’ debut at Ravinia, an achievement that’s long been on the renowned trumpet player’s wish list.

“I've always known about Ravinia … but this is a total dream come true to actually be playing it,” he said during a recent call from his home in Philadelphia.

Promising a true holiday extravaganza, Marsalis hints there will be selections from the Stan Kenton songbook as well as “jazzier versions” of holiday staples like “Angels We Have Heard On High” and “Good King Wenceslas,” as well as bits of “The Nutcracker” and a special musical presentation of “’Twas The Night Before Christmas,” accompanied by a reading of the beloved poem.

But there’s also plenty of New Orleans flair that will come into the program too, a nod to the trumpet player’s roots in Louisiana.

Part of the Marsalis musical family dynasty, Rodney wound up in Philadelphia when continuing studies at the Curtis Institute of Music, but has always kept close to his foundation. His big brass ensemble typically begins shows with the jazz/gospel staple “Just a Closer Walk With Thee” and ends with an homage to the city’s long history of street performances.

“In New Orleans, bands play when they march through the streets, and we usually go marching through the audience,” Marsalis shared, saying the idea came after a gig with his cousin, trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis, and seeing the audience reaction.

“When you bring that into a concert hall, people really love it. … We’ve been doing it ever since,” said Rodney.

The tradition also harkens back to the earliest days of The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass, which busked to get by.

“This group started on the street in New Orleans when I was with New Orleans Symphony,” Rodney recalled. “We’d play on the corner as a brass quintet. There was another Dixieland group that was sharing the corner, and we would go back and forth all day. … That way, we kept the crowd big, and that's how we made money back then.”

He didn’t know it at the time, but one of the members in Dixieland group was actually Trombone Shorty, who was also getting his start.

Much of Rodney’s career and training has carried that same kind of kismet and connection with it. By six years of age, he started playing music, and by 11, he was training under the careful eye of his cousin, the acclaimed trumpetist and composer Wynton Marsalis. It led to Rodney’s debut with the New Orleans Symphony at age 15 and the Boston Pops at 19. He’s now principal trumpet of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia.

Rodney also had unparalleled tutelage from Wynton’s father, the late and great jazz pianist Ellis Louis Marsalis Jr.

“He was a very powerful influence. If there was ever a question about something, it was always ‘let's go ask Ellis,’ ” Rodney shared, remembering his mom once told him that he should find something to fall back on if music didn’t work out. “And I remember Ellis said, ‘You shouldn't plan on falling.’ ”

Rodney has taken that family legacy into his newly established management company, Marsalis Mansion Artists, which also represents ensembles like the Bach Aria Soloists and violinist/fiddler Andrew Finn Magill. It’s named after the Civil Rights landmark started by Ellis Sr., who turned a former plantation into a motel, restaurant and lounge that served as a meeting spot for Black performers and dignitaries, such as Thurgood Marshall, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ray Charles, during segregation.

“I was there as a kid. My mom would work there and I remember helping my aunt fold towels. … It was a nice place where there was a swimming pool, and I remember the rooms had a little music box, so you could play music. … I had all these memories surrounding that place, but it was only when I was older that I started to understand the history,” Rodney shared.

So, when his cousin and fellow musician Branford Marsalis advised Rodney to create his own management agency, the idea for the name came up.

“I wanted to honor and do something where everyone was welcome, because that's what I learned about Marsalis Mansion,” said Rodney. “I want people to have access to the arts, no matter what walk of life they're from.”