Branford Marsalis Quartet
Branford Marsalis: soprano and tenor saxophones
Joey Calderazzo: piano
Eric Revis: double bass
Justin Faulkner: drums
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Live at Luxembourg Philharmonic Grand Auditorium , November 07, 2024
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Member of a completely musical family (Son of Ellis Marsalis – a pianist, educator and Jason Marsalis, his brothers Wynton and Delfeayo are also jazz musicians).
In 1986, Marsalis formed the Branford Marsalis Quartet with pianist Kirkland, drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts and bass player Robert Hurst.
Over the years, the members of the quartet have changed, with the current line-up including Branford Branford on saxophones, pianist Joey Calderazzo, who replaced Kurland after his death in 1998 and known for his work with Michael Brecker, bassist Eric Revis (in the line-up since 1997) and young drummer Justin Faulkner (since 2009). He does use a non-standard drum kit configuration with an additional share drum.
The Branford Marsalis Quartet has since toured and recorded extensively. For two decades Marsalis was associated with Columbia, where he served as creative consultant and producer for jazz recordings between 1997 and 2001.
The concert at the Grand Auditorium in Luxembourg included pieces from couple of his latest albums: “Four MFs Playin’ Tunes”, “The Dark Keys”, “The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul”, as well as 2 pieces that brought back in time the atmosphere of the smoky and full of life and energy pieces of swing era, Benny Goodman was peeking around the corner. The audience can’t wait to get up and start dancing.
The concert began with The Mighty Sword (LP: “Four MFs Playin’ Tunes”) included a fast tempo, with energetic work by all four.
This was followed by Keith Jarret’s Long as You Know You’re Living Yours the country-blues feel of is a confident reflection of his music roots.
Next Conversation Among the Ruins (Calderazzo) an elegant, soulful, gorgeous and hauntingly beautiful ballade, the solos slow-burned meditatively with Marsalis slurring and trilling on soprano sax and Calderazzo speedy twinkles coalescing into an extended two-handed flourish.
Then came Benny Goodman and his inimitable swing brought much excitement and evoked long-forgotten memories of crowded and noisy parties when people enjoyed life to the fullest.
Followed by As Summer Into Autumn Slips, A slow ballad, immersing the listener in the lazy August evening.
After prolonged 5-6 minutes applause came 2 encores, again dipping in the swing, Marsalis bent notes and laced his soprano sax with vibrato; the pulse, hinting at a New Orleans march, never strayed.
And the last one – old fashioned classic Ochi chernye (Black Eyes).
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