Branford Marsalis Quartet: Braggtown

CML call number: CD/JAZZ/Marsalis
Ben Ratliff wrote in the New York Times: "Mr. Marsalis, 46, the saxophonist and bandleader, is the eldest of the six Marsalis brothers; three others are also in jazz: Wynton, the trumpeter and major domo of Jazz at Lincoln Center; Delfeayo, the trombonist and record producer; and Jason, the drummer. … His own band, the Branford Marsalis Quartet, is in an exciting phase. In the late 1990's, getting its bearings after the death of its previous pianist, Kenny Kirkland, it had the potential to be one of the best small groups in jazz; more recently it has truly become that. Formed in 1997, its lineup has stayed intact for the last seven years, with the pianist Joey Calderazzo, the bassist Eric Revis and the drummer Jeff (Tain) Watts. Its new record, 'Braggtown,' accommodates hurtling, physical Coltrane-ish music, slow and mournful ballads and a version of 'O Solitude,' a song written by the 17th-century English composer Henry Purcell. Mr. Marsalis is fascinated by slow music … and also by classical music, and seems to be working toward a way that a jazz quartet can use classical material more flexibly" ("Listening with Branford Marsalis," 10/6/06).