Jazz to classical – Branford Marsalis appears with the Philadelphia Orchestra

Publication: The Times Union
Author: Joseph Dalton
Date: August 7, 2011

“Close enough for jazz” is a fun, shorthand way of saying that something’s “good enough.”  Just don’t use the phrase in the presence of a serious jazz musician.

The expression certainly didn’t come up in conversation with saxophonist Branford Marsalis, who will be performing with the Philadelphia Orchestra on Wednesday night at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.  But Marsalis did speak with surprising candor about the discipline and rigor involved in classical music.

“There’s a level of precision in symphonic music that can be daunting and intimidating and that’s what I appreciate,” he said. “A lot of other music relies heavily on personal style and I appreciate that too.”

A member of the famed family of New Orleans jazz musicians, Marsalis has his own quartet and is a three-time Grammy winner.  But on Wednesday night he’ll be taking at least some cues from conductor Giancarlo Guerrero.

“When you listen to jazz tunes, it’s rare that everybody starts at the same time. The jazz downbeat is negotiated, often with a drum leading the way,” he said.  “It’s a whole other idea when 60 people go ‘bang!’ at the same time.  Big bands used to do that but small bands don’t.  It took me a while to get that down.”

About 12 years ago Marsalis put his nose to the grindstone and began classical studies at the University of Texas in Austin under the tutelage of saxophonist Harvey Pittel.

“I was at that age where the decline starts.  Like if you don’t work out in your 40s you start huffing and puffing up the stairs,” explains Marsalis, 50.  “It’s the same if you play a kind of music that doesn’t require work because it’s based on personal expression not technique.”

“I didn’t have to take lessons to play on records of The Grateful Dead or Sting, though I could have used them to make my own records better,” he continues. “(The classical repertoire) is such a different animal in terms of technical proficiency and accuracy. It’s been a godsend to me.”

Strictly speaking, Marsalis’ first professional foray into classical music actually dates to 1986 with a CBS recording titled “Romances for Saxophone.” It features 13 short romantic selections, mostly French, by the likes of Faure, Debussy and Ravel.

“I don’t consider that a classical project,” he explains.  “Wynton was doing really well with classical music at the time and his executive producer said to me, oh have you ever thought about a classical record?  I said no, and that I’ve not had an earnest lesson since 1965.  But if it’s one of those pretty melody records with whole notes, half notes and some quarter notes, then that’s okay.”

According to Marsalis, the repertoire was prepared over the course of a month or so in Paris at the same time that String’s concert film “Bring on the Night” was being shot.

“We were filming from seven to seven every day and around 9 p.m. I’d get with Harve and work ‘til 1 a.m. And that went on for about 4 weeks,” recalls Marsalis. “After wrapping the movie, we flew to London and made the record.  Then I slept for three days.”

Marsalis waited until 2001 for his next venture in front of the microphones with classical repertoire. (He has two dozen jazz albums.) That project, titled “Creation,” was with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.  Preparing the project was yet another new experience for Marsalis.

“Orpheus has no conductor and I’d be a quarter beat behind,” he recalls. “Eventually I said oh I’m behind and they chuckled, like, oh he notices.”

That disc also centers on French repertoire and includes “Scaramouche” a suite for saxophone and orchestra by Darius Milhaud that will be performed this week at SPAC.  Also on Wednesday’s program is “Escapades,” by John Williams, taken from his jazz-inspired score to the film “Catch Me If You Can.”

Marsalis says that in a typical year he plays hundreds of jazz gigs and makes about 10 appearances in classical settings.  He has a repertoire of a dozen or so pieces, including pieces written for his instrument, some other concertos arranged for saxophone and lieder (songs) of Brahms, Korngold and Mahler.

“I allow the organizations to tell me what to play because they know their audiences,” he says.  “I don’t want it to be a in situation where I play one or two pieces over and over because that’s the same situation in jazz.”

Joseph Dalton is the author of “Artists & Activists: Making Culture in New York’s Capital Region” and a regular contributor to the Times Union. He blogs at: http://www.hudsonsounds.org.

Branford Marsalis, saxophone
with the Philadelphia Orchestra
Giancarlo Guerrero Conductor

Marsalis will perform “Escapades,” from John Williams’ film score “Catch Me If You Can,” and Milhaud’s “Scaramouche.” The program also features Debussy’s “Prelude to Afternoon of a Faun,” Bizet’s Suite from “Carmen” and Ravel’s Rapsodie Espagnole and “Bolero.”

When: 8 p.m. Wednesday (8/10)

Where: Saratoga Performing Arts Center