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Tenor Titans: Branford Marsalis
by Russell Perry
Branford Marsalis, tenor and soprano saxophone maestro and member of the important musical clan, emerged forty years ago in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and as a sideman in his brother Wynton's early endeavors. For thirty years, the primary vehicle for his own releases has been predominantly the sax-piano-bass-drums quartet but recently he has produced work in a duo with long-time collaborator, pianist Joey Calderazzo. He continues to also flourish in outside projects with other jazz leaders. The final of four ...
read moreBranford Marsalis at The Ohio Theatre
by Matt Hooke
Branford Marsalis Quartet Ohio Theatre Cleveland, Ohio October 10, 2019Branford Marsalis is a jazz chameleon. Few saxophonists could go from playing his brother Wynton's straight-ahead outfit to pursing cross over opportunities with pop-star Sting and hip-hop legend Guru to now making music with Gabriel Prokofiev, the great-grandson of pioneering Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev.On October 10 at the Ohio Theatre, all these experiences came together for an experience that did not ...
read moreThe Branford Marsalis Quartet: The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul
by Mike Jurkovic
It was back in 2012 when the last quartet-only recording Four MFs Playin' Tunes (Marsalis Music) was released. So give more room on the floor to the evil toys dancing their pants off to the pure, wild, free-styling surge of “Dance of the Evil Toys," the killer, lead-off track to the Branford Marsalis Quartet's first full release in seven years, The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul. After touring with Sting, and in support of {[Kurt Elling}} ...
read moreThe Branford Marsalis Quartet: The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul
by Doug Collette
Anyone who's seen the Branford Marsalis Quartet in concert is well aware of what high-flying improvisations the group can embark upon. But the foursome's abandoned approach hardly precludes due emphasis on structure---how better to highlight it than leave it behind?--which is also why this band makes studio albums as trenchant as The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul. Yet the irony in this duality is that strong material is the foundation for concise, purposeful musicianship, whether within ...
read moreThe Branford Marsalis Quartet at Jazz Standard
by Peter Jurew
Branford Marsalis Quartet Jazz Standard New York, NY February 20, 2019 The Branford Marsalis Quartet came into jny: New York's Jazz Standard in late February to showcase The Secret Between The Shadow And The Soul, their first new album release in seven years and, in marking the special occasion, to blow the roof off that primetime jazz basement. That it has been seven years since the band's last new release does not ...
read moreBranford Marsalis and Jean-Willy Kunz at the Kimmel Center
by Victor L. Schermer
Branford Marsalis, Saxophone, and Jean-Willy Kunz, Organ: From Classical to Jazz Kimmel Center for Performing Arts Philadelphia, PA February 16, 2018 This concert of mostly classical works for saxophone and large scale pipe organ turned out to be somewhat of a surprise to the audience of jazz fans, who packed in to hear their hero, Branford Marsalis. The concert emcee, Michael Barone (a radio producer who also hosts a program called ...
read moreSkip Norris Memorial Concert
by C. Andrew Hovan
The old saying goes that we all die twice; once when we take our last breath and then a second time when our name isn't spoken anymore. It is highly unlikely that the name of Wesley “Skip" Norris will vanish from the tongues of jazz devotees anytime soon. Especially not after the memorable and extraordinary sendoff that took place last Friday evening in Detroit. An advocate for jazz in so many ways throughout the past decades, Norris fostered a strong ...
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