Branford Marsalis

Music legends, past and present, take center stage this week

Publication: Louisiana Weekly
Author: Geraldine Wyckoff
Date: December 7, 2015

Branford Marsalis Quartet + Kurt Elling – Four Big Nights

It is difficult to believe that the last time saxophonist Branford Marsalis headlined at Snug Harbor, New Orleans most prestigious modern jazz mecca, was circa 1984. At that time, Marsalis, who appears at the club for a unprecedented four-night stand (December 10 through December 13), co-led a group that was put together by the late Earl Turbinton and included the legendary “Big” Nick Nicholas. Dubbed “Three Generations of Jazz Saxophone,” Turbinton’s aim, it is said, was to illustrate how influences shape the jazz world. Nicholas’ blowing (he’s the guy taking the sax solo on Dizzy Gillespie’s “Manteca”) affected Turbinton and thus the heritage was passed on to Marsalis.

Of course, Marsalis, a New Orleans native now residing in North Carolina, has stood on stage at the Frenchmen Street club since then but only to sit in most often with his father, pianist Ellis Marsalis. For these dates, the three-time, Grammy-winning saxophonist is bringing in his entire, highly-regarded Branford Marsalis Quartet with longtime pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Justin Faulkner. The world-renowned vocalist Kurt Elling will join the group as a special guest. Elling, a Chicago native who also claims multiple awards, is truly a dynamic jazz singer and noted for his unique vocalese and scatting. The musicians are all coming to New Orleans to record an album.

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Submitted by Bobby on December 8th, 2015 — 05:50pm

Tar Heel: Branford Marsalis champions jazz for all

Publication: The News & Observer
Author: Marti Maguire
Date: May 30, 2015

DURHAM - Branford Marsalis grew up with the sounds of jazz music literally rising from the streets, wafting through the windows of the New Orleans home that would spawn a series of jazz giants.

And yet, the Grammy-award winning saxophonist, composer and bandleader’s career is marked by his versatility. Marsalis has played with the Grateful Dead and symphony orchestras, written Broadway scores and starred in Spike Lee movies. He started a record label, hosted a radio show and led the Tonight Show Band.

When he moved to Durham in 2002, Marsalis brought more than his varied talents and the famous surname. He also brought a legacy of service that he traces back to his musical family – one that has made its mark in the Triangle as well as his home town.

Marsalis regularly donates his time and talents to local causes, most notably the N.C. Symphony. He’s organized and performed at several concerts to benefit the organization, including the upcoming Branford Marsalis and Friends show on Tuesday that will also feature Rhiannon Giddens and The Kruger Brothers.

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Branford Marsalis is a 2015 ECHO Jazz Award Winner

Branford Marsalis won the 2015 ECHO Jazz Award for Saxophone/Woodwinds International Instrumentalist of the Year for his performance on In My Solitude: Live  at Grace Cathedral.
 
The Germany Recording Academy recognizes the best German and international jazz artists via the ECHO Jazz Awards. This year’s ceremony will take place in Hamburg on May 28. For additional details and the complete list of nominees, visit echojazz.de.
Submitted by Bobby on April 24th, 2015 — 03:44pm

Classical Classroom, Episode 82: Branford Marsalis Gives Classical Music Jazz Hands

Branford Marsalis recently appeared on Houston Public Radio’s “Classical Classroom” program, interviewed by Dacia Clay. Branford and Dacia speak about the similarities between the jazz and classical genres and Branford’s latest album, In My Solitude: Live at Grace Cathedral

Listen to the program via Houston Public Radio

Submitted by Bobby on April 9th, 2015 — 03:10pm

A dedicated, open mind allows Branford Marsalis to have the world of music at his fingertips

Publication: Columbia Daily Tribune
Author: Amy Wilder
Date: February 1, 2015

Branford Marsalis is a musical polyglot. He is fluent in every language and genre, from classical to jazz, R&B and hip-hop, and his saxophone gives voice to something beyond words, defiant of traditional boundaries.

He will perform at the Missouri Theatre Feb. 8 as part of the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series; the date is this year’s University of Missouri College of Arts and Science Signature Concert. Marsalis brings with him a trio of longtime collaborators to round out his quartet: pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis and relative newcomer, percussionist Justin Faulkner.

In Marsalis’ most recent release, “In My Solitude: Live at Grace Cathedral,” — recorded in 2012 and released last fall — the saxophonist’s haunting melodies fill the cavernous space of the San Francisco cathedral, dipping gracefully in and out of various genres with nods and homages, and the through line vacillates between jazz and classical styles.

Especially indicative of his tendency to scale musical boundaries is the track “Blues For One.” In it, he establishes an ambulatory shuffle blues rhythm and then adds a boogie-woogie melody on top of it. That he does that all with one instrument, playing into the echoes in the church, is incredible.

The transition to a solo performance was entirely natural for Marsalis; his catholic, fluid ability is something he attributes in part to his consumption of the work of other musicians; he draws analogies from another love — sports.

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Submitted by Bobby on February 2nd, 2015 — 10:46am

The Many Movements Of Branford Marsalis

Publication: WUNC’s The State of Things
Interviewer: Frank Stasio
Date: January 29, 2015

Frank Stasio from WUNC’s program The State of Things interviews Branford Marsalis and topics include Marsalis’s bandmates Joey Calderazzo and Justin Faulkner, performing with The Grateful Dead, and Branford’s most recent album, In My Solitude: Live at Grace Cathedral. Head over to WUNC’s website to listen to the full interview

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Submitted by Bobby on January 30th, 2015 — 03:22pm

Nick DeRiso’s Best of 2014 (Blues, R&B + Jazz): D’Angelo, Paul Rodgers, Branford Marsalis

Publication: Something Else!
Author: Nick DeRiso
Date: December 21, 2014

There were surprises, and there were comebacks. There were consolidations, and amazing innovations. But what bound together these Best of 2014 selections was a streak of soulful emotion.

No. 3 — BRANFORD MARSALIS – IN MY SOLITUDE: LIVE AT GRACE CATHEDRAL (JAZZ): Never one to shy away from a big moment, Branford Marsalis brought his saxophones — and nothing else — to one of jazz’s most iconic settings. The results don’t supercede Duke Ellington’s initial 1960s-era Sacred Concert — held there, as well — so much as endeavor to expand the vocabulary of that stirring triumph. Ellington, back then, was focused on blending jazz, black gospel and classical into a kind of large-scale, yet intimate tapestry of emotion. Marsalis instead crafted more in miniature but at the same time, pushed in his own way to blur the lines between post-bop jazz and contemporary classical. In place of the sacred, he delved into modernity of free-form improv — and the results were stunning.

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Submitted by Bobby on January 20th, 2015 — 10:58am

Marsalis, Greene deliver albums of beauty, depth

Publication: Tribune-Review
Author: Bob Karlovits
Date: December 20, 2014

Everything about Branford Marsalis’ “In My Solitude” is excellent — or better. From the tone and improvisation of his play to high-quality recording that makes metallic clicking of his keys clear, the album is marvelous. It features a solo Marsalis offering music that is as new as four improvisations by him and as old as a sonata from C.P.E. Bach (1714-88). Of the four improvisations, No. 1 has the feeling of a piece from an etude book but with a modern flavor. He also offers a great bit of new playing on “Blues for One.” Read more »

Submitted by Bobby on December 22nd, 2014 — 04:26pm

Branford Marsalis: Recording, Live at Grace Cathedral

Publication: San Francisco Classical Voice
Author: Jeff Kaliss
Date: December 19, 2014

Atop San Francisco’s Nob Hill, Grace Cathedral has long welcomed pilgrims of fine music as well as worshipers from the Episcopal Diocese of California. From the recorded sound of it, the solo concert presented there by veteran reed player Branford Marsalis, in October of 2012 was a spiritually enhancing experience transcending orthodox musical sects.

Marsalis, eldest of the four musical brothers in that New Orleans dynasty, hosted a delightfully ecumenical program that took in the American songbook, a TV show theme song, rhythm and blues, the austere borderland of New Music and jazz, and a sonata by C.P.E. Bach, as well as his own through-composed pieces and four diverse improvisations.

Along the way, Marsalis showcased his soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones, but coaxed unfamiliar sounds from the instruments, in the process making consciously varied use of the echo qualities of the spacious structure, and spontaneous use of unanticipated phenomena.

On his “Improvisation No. 3,” for example, Marsalis mimicked the venue’s echo by repeating certain phrases of his invention. Midway through the session, a siren passing on California Street made itself audible, acknowledged with a honk from the tenor sax.

The high-wire thrill of performing solo without any other instrumental support was matched by manifestation of a unique sort of freedom. On Hoagy Carmichael’s “Stardust,” absent the time-keeping rhythm section with which his jazz fans are accustomed to hearing Marsalis, the saxophonist was free both to move through extended impressionist passages before stating the familiar melodic theme, and to elasticize the lines of that theme to his heart’s content.
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Submitted by Bobby on December 22nd, 2014 — 03:41pm

Branford Marsalis: In My Solitude: Live at Grace Cathedral (Review)

Publication: Relix.com
Author: Jeff Tamarkin
Date: December 11, 2014

In jazz, certain instruments lend themselves well to solo performance more than others: Most major pianists, at one time or another, play a solo concert and solo guitar is also plentiful in the concert hall and on record. Saxophone is riskier—sans rhythm section, the saxophonist must hold the attention of the listener via the sheer strength of melody or, with avant-gardists who’ve gone this route, ear-bending experimentalism. Branford Marsalis’ 2012 performance at San Francisco’s regal Grace Cathedral is never in danger of losing its way or its audience. Read more »

Submitted by Bobby on December 16th, 2014 — 05:14pm