Publication: Washington Examiner
Author: Emily Cary
Date: February 14, 2013
Saxophonist/composer Branford Marsalis has been at the forefront of American jazz since his first foray out of his native New Orleans where the Marsalis family’s musical heritage stirs civic pride. Following membership in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and the “Tonight Show” band, he has composed Broadway scores and film soundtracks, taught, established his record label and launched the Branford Marsalis Quartet.
Direct from “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno, the quartet set forth on a tour destined for Oman and Europe with a stop Friday at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center for an evening of creative jazz. Prior to the concert, Marsalis and art professor David C. Driskell will discuss “Convergence: The Intersection of Visual and Performance Art in Jazz,” an exhibition opening concurrently in the David C. Driskell Center. Marsalis is committed to preserving jazz history and the works of its artists.
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