Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Branford Marsalis: Eternal

373

Branford Marsalis: Eternal

By

View read count
Branford Marsalis: Eternal
It takes skill to perform a jazz ballad effectively. It's one thing to burn notes with rapid-fire precision, yet another to explore the intricacies of slower ones. Not only is the music a factor, but the dynamics of mood, style, and emotion also come into play. There have been many jazz ballad recordings and now one of today's foremost saxophonists, Branford Marsalis, gives his spin with Eternal.

Consisting of seven compositions with unique contributions from each member of Marsalis' longtime stellar quartet—pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis, and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts—the music is thought-provoking and performed with great clarity and life.

On some similarly themed recordings there has been at times an overshadowing sense of melancholia. This is not the case with Eternal, where each composition is translated differently with the commonality that Marsalis states: "All of the songs reflect the idea that there is beauty in sadness. Even sad songs sound happy when some people interpret them..."

The new contributions from each member of the quartet do indeed vary in mood and dimension. Watts' "Reika's Loss" has an atmospheric and light quality, supported by Marsalis' rich soprano voice and Calderazzo's delicate meanderings. Calderazzo's "The Lonely Swan" is brooding yet soulful, with a mid-tempo flow. The cerebral piano and saxophone duet "Muldoon" is offered by bassist Revis, while Marsalis' title composition, "Eternal," is a nearly eighteen minute long piece which begins quietly then builds to a feverish crescendo as each musician contributes to its energy.

True ballads have a timeless quality, and this is proven again on the Billie Holiday tune "Gloomy Monday," which is one of the highlights of the recording. The richness and depth of the 1930's classic "Dinner for One Please, James" is a testament to both the quartet and composer Michael Carr. Performed with the usual impeccable talent with which Marsalis and his quartet have become synonymous, Eternal succeeds at providing both mood and substance.

Track Listing

1.The Ruby and the Pearl 2. Reika's Loss 3. Gloomy Sunday 4. The Lonely Swan 5. "Dinner for One Please, James 6. Muldoon 7. Eternal

Personnel

Branford Marsalis--Saxophones; Joey Calderazzo--Piano; Eric Revis--Bass; Jeff "Tain" Watts--Drums.

Album information

Title: Eternal | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: Marsalis Music

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Branford Marsalis Concerts


Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.