Jason Marsalis (March 4, 1977, New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American jazz drummer and member of the famous New Orleans Marsalis jazz musical family. He is the youngest son of Delores Ferdinand Marsalis and Ellis Marsalis, Jr. .
His brothers are Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Ellis Marsalis III (1964), Delfeayo Marsalis, and Mboya Kinyatta (1971). Branford, Wynton, and Delfeayo are also jazz musicians. Ellis is a poet, photographer, & network engineer based in Baltimore. Mboya is autistic.
Jason has not only inherited the virtuosity and compositional skills associated with the Marsalis family, but has also developed a distinctive, polyrhythmic drumming style. Though his first professional gig was with his father at the age of twelve, he studied classical percussion at Loyola University in New Orleans, and worked as a sideman with straight-ahead combos, funk fusion bands, a Brazilian percussion ensemble, and even a Celtic group. He introduced percussionist Bill Summers to trumpeter Irvin Mayfield and together they co-founded the wildly successful Los Hombres Calientes. Then, at the height of that band's popularity, Jason left to join up with acclaimed pianist Marcus Roberts. Jason Marsalis still sits in with his father on many occasions, and gigs regularly with many other musicians.