But, what were they thinking, those corporate muckety mucks at CBS/Sony who decided to let Branford Marsalis take the reigns of their Jazz label. In fact, when the news first hit the street, it did seem a bit odd that a man with no previous track record of management or planning would suddenly occupy such lofty status.

Was it the Marsalis family name? It does have a certain cachet in the Jazz world given the rise of Wynton and his elevation to the pedestal of Jazz spokesman. But why Branford?

An integral part of the "team" was Jeff Levenson, a former journalist who served as an executive at Warner Bros and whose rapid rise through the ranks to a six figure salary has also been the topic of considerable discussion among his former peers.

And what did the Marsalis/Levenson regime give us during their reign of power? Not much. A handful of releases at best. Of course Branford's career as leader endures. He has a new release, as does Wynton. The trumpeter has a lots of new releases, something like seven or eight, thirty seven (?), coming out soon.

They did sign Richard Bona, the extraordinary electric bassist from Cameroon, who came to prominence with the Zawinul Syndicate. Bona is nothing short of incredible and one can't help but feel sympathy for the treatment his music will receive in the wake of this corporate changeover. Same goes for the music of Jeff Watts and Joey Calderazzo, who also have Columbia CDs either just released, or soon-to-be.

And what ever happened to poor Sam Newsome and his Global Unity. Mr. Newsome's recording got released, but hardly noticed. A measure of the attention to detail offered by the "Team," and what they do to market their artists can be found on their website, which hasn't been updated since last winter.

So, aside from playing golf, what the hell did Marsalis and Levenson do? How will history judge them? Will history even bother?

As for the executives who hatched this plot, something out of a bad sitcom, aside from their superstars, their Legacy line continues to bear fruits. Maybe that's what they wanted all along, after all, it's much more cost effective to reissue the past than try and record the present.

I can't begin to understand what goes on in the addled brains of those people in the seat of record industry power. Perhaps one day, one of these titans will leave their brains to science, so that researchers will uncover just exactly what it is the chemical makeup of this sort of human being.

As for Branford, he will not doubt continue on the path he has been pursuing: saxophonist, golfer, and Lord knows what else. I suspect this won't be the last time we'll be hearing from Branford.

Or Mr. Levenson. He'll soon surface at another label, in another executive capacity. Once you become a member of that exclusive club, you don't leave. Lifetime membership is mandatory. Once an exec, always an exec. Of course in the near future, Mr. Levenson might find himself in the somewhat awkward position of trying to get though to people whose calls he never bothered to return. But don't worry, Mr. Levenson won't have to give up his Range Rover or change his lifestyle. He'll be taken care of. There's another six figure salary with a nice expense account waiting for him 'cross town. I forget the movie, but in one of those 40s Hollywood classic stories of success about an ambitious guy who makes it to the top only to become a shallow, thinned skinned, disingenuous fool, a character says, "Be nice to everyone because you're going to meet the same people on the way down, that you met on the way up."

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