Branford Marsalis and Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia at Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts

Branford Marsalis and Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Scottsdale, Arizona
October 19, 2014

Saxophonist Branford Marsalis demonstrated his consummate versatility during a concert with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia as part of that ensemble's 50th anniversary national concert tour, the jazz-pop star having segued into classical performances four years ago with the New York Philharmonic.

"Marsalis: Well-Tempered" was the concert theme, using a term applied to the music-theory concept of a 12-note keyboard octave of majors and minors, as exposed in Johannes Sebastian Bach's famed composition, "The Well-Tempered Clavier."

The concert staged 19 string musicians and a harpsichordist performing without a director. Marsalis had transcribed traditional Baroque parts for oboe, bassoon and violin, modernizing the sound via his soprano saxophone. He performed a straight-ahead classical repertoire with no improvisational excursions, not even very much during the closing encore of "Autumn Leaves." His on-stage stature, however, was different from more rigid classical soloists, as he stood in a relaxed position with frequent forward movements for his bright and agile musical shifts.

Marsalis treated with great aural respect the three-part concerto by Tomaso Albinoni, also Francois Couperin's six-part "Concerts Royaux" that best exposed his stylish ability on soprano sax. He also performed a four-part sonata by Louis-Antoine Dornel, written originally for oboe and basso continuo, the latter allowing for imperceptible improvisations by cello, keyboard and/or bassoon. He closed the program with Bach's "Concerto in F Major for Oboe, Strings and Basso Continuo" that also offered a less rigid effect.

The orchestra also performed three selections without Marsalis, opening with Bach's "Air on the G String," later Georg Philipp Telemann's seven-part "Don Quixote at Comacho's Wedding," as well as Pietro Locatelli's "Concerto Grosso in C Minor." During all these, as well as the Marsalis solo segments, the harpsichord was so badly under-amplified that it rarely could be heard above the richly melodic and harmonious strings.

For the scattering of jazz fans in the sold-out audience of 850, who perhaps had anticipated the precisely stylish swing of the Modern Jazz Quartet, the encore of "Autumn Leaves" was welcome familiarity via a trio of saxophone, acoustic bass and keyboard. This time the harpsichord could be heard better, but Marsalis remained in his classical strait-jacket, resulting in minimal improvisation.

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