Our congratulations to Jason Marsalis who was featured on National Public Radio’s “Heavy Rotation” this morning (Monday, July 8). WWNO correspondent Gwen Tompkins was asked to pick a track that was getting spins on her own player lately, and she chose “Ballet Class”– a charming, melodic piece that appears on the drummer-turned-vibraphonist’s latest disc, In a World of Mallets. Tompkins first explained that New Orleans’ music scene is “organized the way the Somali clan culture is organized,” with dynasties like the Marsalises ruling the town; and then noted that the song “conveys a sense of movement that can take so many forms.”The full track can be heard here.

New Orleans drummer Jason Marsalis

It’s been a good month for Marsalis, who was also featured as a Rising Star in Down Beat magazine. He and his quartet can be seen most Tuesdays at Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse on Bourbon Street.