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."
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.
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
September
27 / SUNY Purchase Concert Hall (with Quartet) / Purchase, NY
October
4 / Meany Hall @ University of Washington / Seattle, WA
October
5 / Mount Baker Theatre / Bellingham, WA
October
8 / Van Duzer Theatre at Humboldt State / Arcata, CA
October
9 / Laxson Auditorium at CA State University / Chico, CA
October
11 & 12 / Three Stages at Folson Lake College / Folsom, CA
October
15 / Sidney Harman Hall / San Luis Obispo, CA
October
16 / Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts / Beverly Hills, CA
October
17 / Sherwood Auditorium / San Diego, CA
October
18 / UNLV Performing Arts Center / Las Vegas, CA
October
19 / Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts / Scottsdale, CA
October
21 / Oxford Performing Arts Center / Oxford, AL
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
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