nea jazz master

Publication: The Morning Call
Author: Steve Siegal
Date: October 8, 2016

When Branford Marsalis performed Villa Lobos’ Fantasia for Saxophone and Orchestra for his first time back in 2008, you’d think it would have been a cakewalk for the multiple Grammy-winning, Tony-nominated, NEA Jazz Master saxophonist.

After all, Marsalis had worked with a roster of who’s who in the music world — he toured with Herbie Hancock, recorded with Miles Davis and performed with Sting, Phil Collins, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins and a host of other icons.

But classical music proved a formidable nut to crack.

“Nine years ago I felt like I was treading in the Pacific Ocean after the boat had sunk and the water was just above my nose,” says Marsalis, 56, speaking from his home in Durham, N.C. “When you’re a defensive player not trying to make mistakes, it means you’re not making music. It took a long time for my brain to start to slow down — only then can you make musical decisions not based on survival.”

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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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Publication: The Hartford Courant
Author: Owen McNally
Date: January 31, 2013

Still soaring on the propulsive power and high-octane creativity of one of his best and brightest releases in awhile, saxophonist/composer Branford Marsalis sets down with his hard-swinging but sensitive quartet Thursday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the University of Connecticut’s Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts.

“An Evening with Branford Marsalis and the Branford Marsalis Quartet,” as the swinging Storrs jazz soiree is called, features the NEA Jazz Master and Grammy Award- winning warrior collaborating with his fine, empathetic pianist Joey Calderazzo, big-toned bassist Eric Revis and his young, sensational drummer, Justin Faulkner.

An evening’s worth of the catalytic, collaborative mix of Marsalis and Calderazzo just by itself would have made the trip to Jorgensen quite rewarding. Add to that already superior blend, Revis, who flawlessly takes care of business on bass, and the fabulous Faulkner, and potentially you’ve got one of the winter’s major jazz events in Connecticut. Read more »

Publication: Minnesota Post
Author: Pamela Espeland
Date: February 25, 2011

The eldest son in a famous clan of jazz musicians, saxophonist/composer/educator Branford Marsalis is enjoying a robust and variegated career. Known mainly as a jazz artist, he is equally at home with classical music and contemporary pop. He spent two years as musical director of “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” and another two performing and recording with Sting (“Dream of the Blue Turtles,” “Nothing Like the Sun”). He still performs with Sting on occasion.

On Sunday evening, Marsalis will perform at Orchestra Hall with his formidable quartet. (This is not a star-saxophonist-plus-rhythm-section quartet, but an ongoing, provocative, stimulating four-way conversation.) He’ll share the bill with another famous New Orleans native, trumpeter Terence Blanchard, who will bring his quintet to the big stage.  Read more »