AVAILABLE TODAY on Marsalis Music via OKeh Records:
Branford Marsalis Celebrates Melody and Feeling on
In My Solitude: Live at Grace Cathedral
Celebrated Saxophonist's First Unaccompanied Concert
at Iconic San Francisco Site Documented on New Album
"... an estimable soloist." - The New York Times
"... a prolific and acclaimed jazzman..." - Rolling Stone
Branford Marsalis
continues to prove that there is no context too large or small to
contain his gifts. A reigning master of the jazz quartet format,
dedicated champion of the duo setting, in-demand soloist of classical
ensembles both chamber and orchestral, and session-enhancing special
guest on an array of rock, roots and pop performances over the course of
his career, his ever-broadening creativity and instrumental command
have created the profile of a multi-dimensional musician with few peers
among contemporary performers.
One
setting notably absent from Marsalis' resume until now has been the
unaccompanied solo concert. This most daunting of formats poses
particular challenges that were met with his signature blend of serious
intent, technical rigor and emotional directness when Marsalis brought
his soprano, alto and tenor saxophones to Grace Cathedral on October 5,
2012. This San Francisco landmark, the site of Duke Ellington's Sacred
Concerts in the Sixties and, since 1983, home to recitals at the
centerpiece of the annual San Francisco Jazz Festival, proved an ideal
setting for a program spanning early and post-bop jazz, baroque and
contemporary classical music and spontaneous improvisation. The results
can be heard on In My Solitude: Live at Grace Cathedral, the new album that Marsalis is releasing on his Marsalis Music via OKeh Records imprint on October 21, 2014.
As
might be expected from someone with such a refined appreciation of
musical excellence, Marsalis prepared by listening to solo recordings by
a range of preferred artists, including Sonny Rollins, Steve Lacy and
Sam Newsome from the jazz world as well as Anner Blysma, Angela Hewitt
and Arno Bornkamp among classical players. He also committed himself to a
program that transcended blatant displays of virtuosity. "From my time
playing r&b and rock and roll, I can listen like a casual listener,"
he notes, "but the challenge for 80% of any audience, for any
kind of music, is hearing melody and improvisation based on melody.
Playing a lot of notes can be impressive at first, but will quickly make
every song sound similar. So everything I played at Grace Cathedral was
based on songs with great melodies, not being too `notey,' and
utilizing the feeling in the room."
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photo credit: Palma Kolansy
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Getting the most out of the moment may be illustrated most clearly on "Improvisation No. 3," where Marsalis' tenor saxophone engages in conversation with a passing siren, while each of the 11 tracks reflects his appreciation of the vast cathedral space. "Every room has a sound of its own," Marsalis emphasizes. "There's a difference between playing in the Village Vanguard, and Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, and Royal Festival Hall in London; and there is definitely a difference playing in Grace Cathedral, with its seven-second delay. Playing solo interludes in other rooms where my quartet performs was not going to prepare me. I had to hear that Grace
Cathedral sound in my head."
The
melodies Marsalis chose for inspiration include two of his own, "The
Moment I Recall Your Face" and "Blues for One," Hoagy Carmichael's uberstandard
"Stardust," Steve Lacy's "Who Needs It?", a movement from a baroque
sonata by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and "I'm So Glad We Had This Time
Together," the closing theme of Carol Burnett's classic television show.
One of the biggest challenges and clearest signs of Marsalis's evolving
mastery is his interpretation on alto saxophone of "MAI," a
through-composed piece by Japan's Ryo Noda that tests the mettle of the
most accomplished recital-hall saxophonists. "This is a great piece,
with multiphonics and other fingerings not typical for the saxophone,
that captures the spirit of the shakuhachi, the bamboo flute on which a
purely Japanese form of music has been created. While I was in Japan
recently, a friend gave me a tour of sorts in which I heard the
instrument played in a variety of settings, which helped me to
appreciate that patience, rather than getting to the point as quickly as
possible, is everything. I wanted to honor the original intent of
Noda's music, and I knew that the audience would relate to the sound of
the piece in Grace Cathedral."
Marsalis
also determined to balance the program with four improvisations, each
of which sustains the mood of deep feeling and melodic coherence.
"Musical spontaneity, like spontaneity in any language, has to be within
a context to be meaningful," he emphasizes, "and the more music you
know, the more spontaneous you can be. So I went out on stage with
spaces intentionally left in the program, where I could create
improvisations clearly based both on what I had just played and the
feeling of the room and the audience."
Regardless
of its starting point, each track confirms that, whether playing
soprano, alto or tenor saxophone, Marsalis possesses one of the warmest,
most direct and expressive sounds of any instrumentalist. "My main
concern has been eliminating any shakes in my tone, and classical
practice helps a lot with that," he says, "but otherwise I don't think
about creating something people will think of as my sound. When it's time to play the gig, I just let it happen."
"Playing
a solo concert is just hard," Marsalis admits. "After a gig, I'm
usually happy to spend time with friends, but after the Grace Cathedral
concert I just wanted to go to sleep. After all, if I have an off night
with my band, Joey [Calderazzo], Eric [Revis] and Justin [Faulkner] will
pick up the slack. But this was just me."
Yet no reinforcements were required. In My Solitude: Live at Grace Cathedral
is both intensely introspective and accessible without compromise, a
singular achievement in the singular career of Branford Marsalis.
About Branford Marsalis
Branford
Marsalis has stayed the course. From his early acclaim as a saxophonist
bringing new energy and new audiences to the jazz art, he has refined
and expanded his talents and his horizons as a musician, composer,
bandleader and educator - a 21st Century mainstay of artistic excellence.
Growing
up in the rich environment of New Orleans as the oldest son of pianist
and educator Ellis Marsalis, Branford was drawn to music along with
siblings Wynton, Delfeayo and Jason. His first instrument, the clarinet,
gave way to the alto and then the tenor and soprano saxophones when the
teenage Branford began working in local bands. A growing fascination
with jazz as he entered college gave him the basic tools to obtain his
first major jobs, with trumpet legend Clark Terry and alongside Wynton
in Art Blakey's legendary Jazz Messengers. When the brothers left to
form the Wynton Marsalis Quintet, the world of uncompromising acoustic
jazz was invigorated. Branford formed his own quartet in 1986 and, with a
few minor interruptions in the early years, has sustained the unit as
his primary means of expression.
Branford
has not confined his music to the quartet context. In addition to guest
turns with a legion of giants including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie,
Herbie Hancock and Sonny Rollins, he has excelled in duets with several
major pianists, including his boyhood friend Harry Connick, Jr. and the
longtime pianist in his quartet, Joey Calderazzo. Branford's first solo
concert, at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral, is documented on his latest
recording, In My Solitude. Branford has also shared his
knowledge as an educator, forming extended teaching relationships at
Michigan State, San Francisco State and North Carolina Central
Universities and conducting workshops at sites throughout the United
States and the world.
Classical
music inhabits a growing portion of Branford's musical universe. With a
repertoire including works by Copland, Debussy, Glazunov, Ibert,
Mahler, Milhaud, Rorem, Vaughn Williams, Villa-Lobos and Sally Beamish,
Branford is frequently heard with leading symphony orchestras including
those in Chicago, Detroit, Dusseldorf and North Carolina as well as the
New York Philharmonic. He also served as Creative Director for the
Cincinnati Symphony's Ascent series in 2012-13.
Broadway has also welcomed Branford's contributions. His initial effort, original music for a revival of August Wilson's Fences,
garnered a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music in a Play and a Tony
nomination for Best Original Score Written for the Theater. Branford
also provided music for The Mountaintop, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett, and served as musical curator for the 2014 revival of A Raisin in the Sun.
Some
might gauge Branford Marsalis's success by his numerous awards,
including three Grammys and (together with his father and brothers) his
citation as a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts. To
Branford, however, these are only way stations along what continues to
be one of the most fascinating and rewarding journeys in the world of
music.
Upcoming Branford Marsalis Tour Dates:
all dates are with the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra unless otherwise noted
October 22 / Legacy Hall at River Center for the Arts / Columbus, GA
October 23 / Charleston Music Hall / Charleston, SC
October 24 / Dale F. Halton Theater / Charlotte, NC
October 25 / Virginia Tech center for the Arts / Blacksburg, VA
October 26 / Otis A. Singletary Center for the Arts / Lexington, KY
October 28 / Osterhout Concert Theater / Binghamton, NY
November 1 / Kean University / Hillside, NJ
November 2 / State Theatre Regional Arts Center / New Brunswick, NJ
December 31 / Terrace Theater @ Kennedy Center (with Quartet) / Washington, DC
Branford Marsalis · In My Solitude
OKeh/Marsalis Music · Release Date: October 21, 2014
For more information on Branford Marsalis, please visit: branfordmarsalis.net
Sony Music Masterworks comprises the Masterworks, Sony Classical, OKeh,
Portrait, Masterworks Broadway and Flying Buddha imprints.
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