All press News

Publication: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Author: Carol Cling
Date: April 1, 2012

Those expecting a one-man show must have been disappointed.

But for those who had come to see — and hear — the Branford Marsalis Quartet, the what’s-in-a-name question took a back seat to the music.

Playing two sold-out shows Saturday night at The Smith Center’s intimate Cabaret Jazz club, the Marsalis quartet demonstrated that jazz is nothing if not a team sport — and that a solo in the spotlight is no match for an in-sync team grooving in top form.

Oh, there’s no mistaking Marsalis’ star presence. After all, he’s the one with the famous name, the Grammy Awards, and the résumé that stretches from Sting to Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show.”

Despite his past pop and funk forays, however, there’s no mistaking his serious commitment to, and serious command of, a wide-ranging jazz repertoire.

During the first of two Saturday night sets, Marsalis led his equally accomplished bandmates — pianist Joey Calderazzo , drummer Justin Faulkner and bassist Eric Revis — through a stylistically varied but consistently rewarding program, one that showcased all four players delivering everything from blues to bop. And beyond.

The quartet kicked off in high gear with Calderazzo’s rousing “The Mighty Sword,” its jittery rhythms setting the stage for Marsalis’ fluid solos (on soprano sax) and equally fluid interplay among his fellow musicians. Read more »

Publication: VanityFair.com
Author: Benjamin Wallace
Date: March 29, 2012

Whether you’re going into your first audition or making your fourth trip to Promises, navigating the entertainment world is a tricky business. Close-knit Hollywood clans such as the Baldwins, Cusacks, Wayanses, and Arquettes have a leg up (not to mention some undeniably good genes), it seems, sharing tips about everything from choosing a project that might strike Oscar gold to avoiding the paparazzi. Whether it’s DNA, shared know-how, or sheer power-in-numbers, some families clearly have that something special. Benjamin Wallace investigates the origin of that je ne sais quoi and the support and rivalry it gives rise to.

Sometimes, the parents are not only enablers but also role models. Ellis Marsalis, father of the Marsalis brothers—Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo, and Jason—was a jazz musician, but there was no pressure on his sons to follow his path, Wynton says. The only thing the Marsalis parents did to guide their children was to make sure—wisely—that each played a different instrument. “My father didn’t expect us to become musical professionals,” Wynton says. “I didn’t start practicing till I was 12.”

Wynton Marsalis experiences a kind of synchronistic mind meld with his brother Branford. “I just stopped in North Carolina and taught his class,” Wynton says, “and at the end, we played together. There were so many ideas going back and forth, such an understanding. You know you can look at someone, and with a glance know you’re thinking the same thing? And then you look away and think something else, then look back, and you’re thinking the same thing? Me and Branford can play two solos, then play counterpoint to each other, and then reach a point where we play the same five or six notes in a row. That’s almost unbelievable. It’s a fascinating thing.”

To read the rest of Mr. Wallace’s interesting article about fame and families, please visit VanityFair.com. Read more »

Publication: Houston Press
Author: Olivia Flores Alvarez
Date: March 22, 2012

Think you know saxophonist Branford Marsalis? Think again. His latest CD, Songs of Mirth and Melancholy, on which he’s joined by pianist Joey Calderazzo, is a departure from his previous material, a drastic departure based less on virtuosity and more on melodic style. Bottom line, it’s less note-y. And it’s that music that will be the basis for today’s concert, Branford Marsalis and Joey Calderazzo: Songs of Mirth and Melancholy.

Marsalis and Calderazzo have been performing together for several years in the Marsalis Quartet, but when the duo performed at the 2009 Newport Jazz Festival things really clicked and the two decided to record together. The result was Songs of Mirth and Melancholy, a collection of originals from the two performers, with the exception of Wayne Shorter’s “Face on the Barroom Floor” and Brahms’s Die Trauernde.

“I have only played duo with Harry [Connick, Jr.], my dad [Ellis Marsalis] and Joey. And with Joey, I can go in different directions,” says Marsalis via press materials. In liner notes for Mirth and Melancholy, he praises Calderazzo’s talent and versatility. “There are so few people who can actually create melody – which is why there’s an over-reliance on pattern, because it’s attainable and melody is elusive: either you’ve got it or you don’t. Joey’s always had it, and the technical side as well.” Read more »