Artist info
Is there be a better way to spend the Saturday night of Valentine's Day Weekend then with one of the world's most renowned saxophonist's who also happens to be a consummate jazz-and-classical musician? We doubt it -- particularly when you consider that the artist in question is Branford Marsalis who makes his first Columbia visit in 10 years. Marsalis arrives with his current quartet consisting of two ongoing associates the past two decades -- the fabulous pianist Joey Calderazzo and the meaty bassist Eric Revis -- and one of the freshest and most impressive new faces in jazz, the still teen-aged drummer Justin Faulkner who follows in the footsteps of Jeff 'Tain Watts.
The group will also feature music from Marsalis' most recent recording Metamorphosen, released in spring 2009 on the saxophonist's own Marsalis Music label. The recording marked another milestone for this ensemble that continues to set the pace regarding jazz creativity. Marsalis chose the title, which is German for "metamorphoses," to emphasize the evolution of both his venerable ensemble and each individual member. "We've all been practicing," he said, "and you can hear it in the development of the music and in our sound. The more that each of us practices, the more our individual sounds become centered. Now, while we are all in the same room, it sounds as if each of the instruments were isolated. That's what practice will do for you."
Tonight's performance is even more apropos because aside from being a key piece to our 15th Anniversary Season it serves as the opening for MU's Arts & Science Week.
Ultimately, what can we say about someone as distinguished as Branford Marsalis, now on the cusp of 50? He is a New Orleans native who is the eldest sibling in the first-family of jazz. He's a three-time GRAMMY® winner who, along with his brother Wynton Marsalis, gained initial acclaim as a member of Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers and subsequently to that through his brother Wynton's quintet in the early 1980s before he formed his own ensemble. He has also performed and recorded with a who's-who of jazz giants including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock and Sonny Rollins -- and he has engaged in a wide array of jazz and classical projects and performances along the way.
On the lighter side you might say was his stint as bandleader on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and his unique mid-1990s contemporary popular music project known as Buckshot LeFonque. He has collaborated with the Grateful Dead and Bruce Hornsby, acted in films including Throw Mama from the Train and School Daze, provided music for Mo' Better Blues and other films and hosted National Public Radio's syndicated program "Jazz Set." Then, of course, there's all the work with his quartet -- and the other nearly two dozen recordings in various styles and instrumentation -- as well as his association with acclaimed symphony orchestras such as those in Chicago, Detroit, Dusseldorf and North Carolina.
