Ellis Marsalis and son Branford Marsalis are shown together Feb. 17, 2008. The whole Marsalis family will be honoured by the National Endowment of the Arts.Ellis Marsalis and son Branford Marsalis are shown together Feb. 17, 2008. The whole Marsalis family will be honoured by the National Endowment of the Arts. (Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE via Getty Images).

The Marsalis family, America's first family of jazz, will be honoured collectively with a Jazz Masters Fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts.

It is the first time the NEA has given one of its awards for significant contribution to the arts to a family. The Marsalises were among 18 artists announced Friday as winners of NEA honours.

Others included contemporary composer Philip Glass, Grammy-winning composer Johnny Mandel and Yacub Addy, a Ghanaian drummer, who collaborated with Wynton Marsalis on Africa Jazz and Congo Square.

Ellis Marsalis, a New Orleans-based pianist and educator, has four sons in jazz:

  • Branford Marsalis, saxophonist, composer and bandleader.
  • Delfeayo Marsalis, trombonist and producer.
  • Jason Marsalis, percussionist and vibraphonist.
  • Wynton Marsalis, trumpeter, composer, arranger and artistic director.

In addition to their contributions to music, the family have been involved in the rebuilding of New Orleans.

They will be honoured Jan. 11, 2011, in New York.

Others to win the NEA jazz honours:

  • Orrin Keepnews, jazz advocate of San Francisco.
  • Hubert Laws, flutist of Los Angeles.
  • David Liebman, saxophonist and flutist of Stroudsburg, Pa.
  • Johnny Mandel, composer-arranger of Santa Monica, Calif.

The Washington-based NEA also announced honours in opera and folk arts.

The Opera Honourees, to be awarded Oct. 22, in Washington, D.C, go to:

  • Martina Arroyo, soprano, New York.
  • David DiChiera, general director of Michigan Opera Theatre in Detroit.
  • Philip Glass, composer of the operas Christopher Columbus and Orphée, New York.
  • Eve Queler, music director of Opera Orchestra of New York.

The National Heritage Fellowships for traditional and folk music to be awarded Sept. 24 in Bethesda, Md., go to:

  • Yacub Addy, Ghanaian drummer, Latham, N.Y.
  • Jim "Texas Shorty" Chancellor, fiddler of Rockwall, Tex.
  • Gladys Kukana Grace, Lauhala weaver of Honolulu.
  • Mary Jackson, sweetgrass basketweaver of John's Island, S.C.
  • Delano "Del" Floyd McCoury, bluegrass guitarist and singer of Nashville.
  • Judith McCulloh, folklorist and editor of Urbana, Ill.
  • Kamala Lakshmi Narayanan Bharatanatyam, Indian dancer of Mastic, N.Y.
  • Mike Rafferty, Irish flute player of Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.
  • Ezequiel Torres, Afro-Cuban drummer and drum builder of Miami.