marsalis: marcus told me that you were never about self-pity or feeling bad about yourself. >> coretta robertsshowed you by example. i mean, she could do a lot of stuff that to this day i can't really do. like, she can iron clothes, she can cook, she knows how to, like, run a household. >> marsalis: he taught himself enough to get his first gig at the silas missionary baptist church, on this very piano. it's out of tune but still quite soulful. ♪ ♪ >> sister murray: i remember him. >> marsalis: sister murray used to lift marcus up on the piano bench. his mama said, when he first started playing, he didn't sound good. >> murray: ooh. he got better. he could really play and he could sing. >> marsalis: oh, he could sing at the same time? >> murray: oh, yeah. >> marsalis: and then, where you hold chords out is real important in gospel music. so they'll be playing... ♪ ♪ he learned the gospel style-- music for praise, for consolation, and for teasing a few more coins into the collection plate. when you really wanted the church to get more intensity, give me an example of something you would do to h