Anthony Branker: Jazz Dialogics

AAJ: Spirituality, like music, is really about dialogue, a dialogue with God and/or the universe. Of course, religion and spirituality come into jazz in an ancestral way, through hymns and gospel music. Spirituality has gotten you through difficult times, so I'm wondering about your aneurysm or AVM in that connection.

AB: That was it. If it weren't for my connection with God, I don't know how I would have gotten through that. It was a very difficult period. I became so close to God. There was a CD by Kirk Franklin, a gospel singer, called The Nu Nation Project (Gospocentric, 1998), and when I was getting back on my feet, I was listening to that CD all the time, and praying and thanking God all the time for getting me through, because, as I would say to God, "Without You, no me." And God got me through; my faith got me through that, and so much more. Got me through the passing of my daughter, and all that happened within a year: the craniotomy in 2000, my daughter's passing in 2001.

AAJ: I'm sure that God being a living presence for you shows up in the music as well. They said that Coltrane was God-inspired when he wrote A Love Supreme (Impulse!, 1964). His wife, Alice Coltrane, remembered that he went up to his room and stayed there for a couple of weeks, and it just poured out of him.

AB: It's interesting because I was raised Roman Catholic, but I was also raised by my mom and dad to honor and understand the bond that we have with all religions. When I was younger, I went to different services of different denominations.

AAJ: It seems clear that you consider your family the center of your life.

AB: Most definitely. My dad passed in 1995. My mom lives in Plainfield, but I'm always bringing her down here and she spends a lot of time with us. It's hard to describe her. She's such an incredible force. At the Word Play concert, I spoke about the late Rutgers trumpet professor Bill Fielder as being one of the influences for the ballad, "The Selfless Soul." My mom is really that same kind of individual who puts herself before others, for anyone who needs help. She's just a beautiful spirit.

I've been married to my wife Lisa going on nineteen years December 12. And my daughter Parris just turned 17 and is now doing her college search thing. She plays basketball and is involved in AAU. I take my role as a dad very seriously and we have a great time together.

AAJ: Do you utilize dialogue with issues that come up with your daughter in a similar way to your jazz groups?

AB: I'm very much a conversational person. In high school, I was called "Henry Kissinger" [laughter] because I was always that mediator, the person that people came to with a problem. So that's how I'm built, I guess. And sometimes that works at home, and other times it may not work. Conversation is so important, this give and take, this ebb and flow, negotiation. You have to be willing to be open enough to hear others' perspectives and takes on things that may be quite different from your own. And not only that, but you have to be willing to step aside and be OK with being wrong about certain things.