Drummer and vibraphonist, Jason Marsalis is a proud New Orleans native and youngest sibling in the celebrated musical Marsalis family. Jason almost vibrates with enthusiasm when he talks about music and conversationally shoots off in various directions when expressing how it connects to politics, culture and the world at large.

Jason and I recorded our conversation in March 2021 and it was obvious that even with the music business being hobbled by the pandemic, Jason was not sitting still. He’s been doing live streams solo, and with his New Orleans Groovemasters, with fellow New Orleans percussionists Herlin Riley and Shannon Powell, and more recently, he’s charged into TikTok bringing jazz to a platform not particularly known for embracing that art form.

A conversation with Jason is an adventure and this one was filled with ringing phones, barking dogs and people at the door. I felt like I was in Jason’s New Orleans, where anything can happen, and it usually does.