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Delfeayo Marsalis: Kalamazoo

By Dan Bilawsky

How is it that we haven't been gifted a live album from trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis before? He's been such an important part of the fabric of this music, whether producing works of lasting significance for other jazz greats in the studio, sharing space with his famous family, or leading his Uptown Orchestra through a rousing set in the Crescent City, yet there's nothing in his leader discography to highlight what it's truly like to hear one of his shows in ...

In Jazz We Trust: On The Politically Inspired Work Of Delfeayo Marsalis and Ted Nash

By Dan Bilawsky

The current state of American politics--a veritable cesspool that makes reality television seem sane by comparison--leaves little to feel good about. Moral compasses are skewed, elected officials bicker like fractious toddlers, and candidates ranging from the lunatic sybarite variety to the bumptiously insincere seek the highest office in the land with strong approval from the loud and entrenched in opposing corners. It's enough to make you cry, sigh, and check out completely. But before you withdraw from any discussion of ...

Delfeayo Marsalis: Sweet Thunder

By Raul d'Gama Rose

Was Delfeayo Marsalis undertaking a task too challenging when he recorded music from one of Duke Ellington's most beloved albums to make Sweet Thunder? Gunther Schuller offers a doctrine that seems to suggest this has been so. Apparently the size and composition of the ensemble lead to this mishap. Would it have been remiss, to replicate the tonal colors that Ellington brought forth when he recorded Such Sweet Thunder (Columbia, 1957)--his jazz musical interpretation/relocation of the iambic pentameter of William ...

Delfeayo Marsalis: Sweet Thunder

By Edward Blanco

Acclaimed trombonist and member of the first family of jazz, Delfeayo Marsalis launches Sweet Thunder: Duke & Shak, an original theatrical jazz production culled from live performances in thirty-six locations across the country. The play was born from Marsalis' affinity for the music of Duke Ellington and the poetry of Shakespeare: first brought to the musical stage in the 1957 production of Such Sweet Thunder at the Shakespeare Festival I Stratford, Canada. Both Ellington and Billy Strayhorn were invited to ...

Delfeayo Marsalis Live at The Blue Note

By Ernest Barteldes

Delfeayo Marsalis Quintet The Blue Note New York City, New York January 4, 2007

Tony Bennett quotes Duke Ellington telling him to “sing sweet and put a little dirt in," and that is the best way to describe Delfeayo (pronounced Del- FEE -yo) Marsalis' Quintet set at New York's Blue Note Jazz Club on January 4, which was part of his week-long residence there.

Delfeayo Marsalis: Minions Dominion

By Joel Roberts

Delfeayo Marsalis, one of the less famous members of the most famous family in jazz today, has made his name mostly behind the scenes as a Grammy-winning producer of more than 75 albums for, among others, older brothers Wynton and Branford, Harry Connick, Jr., Marcus Roberts, and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. But he is also among the more commanding trombonists of his generation and a composer of far-reaching ambition, although he's recorded surprisingly little as a leader. Minions Dominion, ...

Delfeayo Marsalis: Minions Dominion

By Budd Kopman

Delfeayo Marsalis Minions Dominion Troubador Jass 2006

What does the term “mainstream" mean to you? In jazz, the label is applied to music which has time-tested, codified rhythm and structure. After that, it can get more mainstream if the melody and harmony are easily understood. This is not a value judgment about good or bad music, but rather a way of placing the music within a framework of expectation. However, that expectation ...

Delfeayo Marsalis: His Time

By R.J. DeLuke

“The time is right, says Delfeayo Marsalis, third youngest of the renowned and prodigious jazz family from New Orleans, speaking with confidence. “There aren't that many bands out there playing like my band. ... It's my time.

Marsalis has been on the jazz scene for a long time. He may have more notoriety due to his very successful tenure as a record producer. But he's been out there playing the trombone in various aggregations including a notable ...

Delfeayo Marsalis: Minions Dominion

By Jim Santella

Recorded in 2002, Minions Dominion features trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis with two quintets in a program of straight-ahead bliss. His compositions burst with the pride of tradition while emphasizing innermost feelings in every bar. Drummer Elvin Jones carries both quintets with a powerful rhythmic drive that just won't quit.

Marsalis solos with authority, inserting musical quotes spontaneously as the mood takes him in different directions. His driving bebop lines recall the powerful energy and timbre of J.J. Johnson, while ...

Delfeayo Marsalis: Minions Dominion

By Dan McClenaghan

Marsalis may be the most recognizable family name in jazz today, due to patriarch Ellis and his four sons: trumpeter Wynton, saxophonist Branford, trombonist Delfeayo and drummer Jason. The oldest of the four brothers, Wynton, has the highest profile, and Branford falls in not far behind. The third son, Delfeayo, with only three releases in the past fifteen years, may seem less prolific than his older brothers on a lead artist basis, but he has produced or co-produced at least ...