BRANFORD MARSALIS QUARTET – The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul
Okeh/Marsalis Music: 19075914032
Branford Marsalis (tenor and soprano saxophones) Joey Calderazzo (piano) Eric Revis (bass) Justin Faulkner (drums)
Recorded May 28th & 30th 2018, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
If I were to attempt to coin an adage that might adequately define the Branford Marsalis Quartet it would go something like this, “the band that stays together plays really well together”. Pathetic, yes but whilst pick up groups often make great music it is often more by accident than design. Just as it takes time for the finest wines to achieve maturation the same is true for individual musical personalities to achieve a perfectly poised rapport and it could be argued that this more important for jazz than other style of music, because form and structure must admit a high degree spontaneity and risk taking.
Branford formed his band in 1986 and it has undergone various changes but with the exception of the drummer who is a relative newcomer with ten years’ service at his back the other members began their tenure in the late nineties. None of them sound like veterans resting on the feather bed of past achievements and the music on this disc is as both as eloquent and edgy as anything they have yet produced.
The set opens with macabre piece by bassist Revis, `The Dance of the Evil Toys` which combines a sinister theme with nerve jangling pyrotechnics from the piano and percussion with the leader playing inside and outside the box. Confidently utilising the composing talents of his team Marsalis gives free reign to their abilities making for a nicely balanced playlist which includes two highly appealing ballads from Calderazzo , one a seductive samba that ingratiates itself upon the ear.
On a lighter note Branford indulges his New Orleans heritage with quirky version of Andrew Hill’s `Snake Hip Waltz` and after adding one of his own wistfully reflective tone poems the programme closes with a stunning version of Keith Jarrett’s `The Windup` which proceeds at a torrential pace interspersed with a tension relieving rubato passage in which the saxophonist indulges his free style technique before returning to a tumultuous ride out driven along by some exciting rattling percussion.
This is music of a strikingly protean quality in terms of its melodic diversity and rhythmic variability which is perfectly realised by the formidable musical talent at Branford’s disposal. Himself, amongst the most important half dozen sax men on the scene, he is matched in technique by Calderazzo, who, for me, gets more impressive with every appearance both as a master of the sustained burn and a purveyor of deeply affecting romanticism whilst Revis and Faulkner combine to make this one of the most impressive sax lead quartets of the present day.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Okeh/Marsalis Music: 19075914032
Branford Marsalis (tenor and soprano saxophones) Joey Calderazzo (piano) Eric Revis (bass) Justin Faulkner (drums)
Recorded May 28th & 30th 2018, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
If I were to attempt to coin an adage that might adequately define the Branford Marsalis Quartet it would go something like this, “the band that stays together plays really well together”. Pathetic, yes but whilst pick up groups often make great music it is often more by accident than design. Just as it takes time for the finest wines to achieve maturation the same is true for individual musical personalities to achieve a perfectly poised rapport and it could be argued that this more important for jazz than other style of music, because form and structure must admit a high degree spontaneity and risk taking.
Branford formed his band in 1986 and it has undergone various changes but with the exception of the drummer who is a relative newcomer with ten years’ service at his back the other members began their tenure in the late nineties. None of them sound like veterans resting on the feather bed of past achievements and the music on this disc is as both as eloquent and edgy as anything they have yet produced.
The set opens with macabre piece by bassist Revis, `The Dance of the Evil Toys` which combines a sinister theme with nerve jangling pyrotechnics from the piano and percussion with the leader playing inside and outside the box. Confidently utilising the composing talents of his team Marsalis gives free reign to their abilities making for a nicely balanced playlist which includes two highly appealing ballads from Calderazzo , one a seductive samba that ingratiates itself upon the ear.
On a lighter note Branford indulges his New Orleans heritage with quirky version of Andrew Hill’s `Snake Hip Waltz` and after adding one of his own wistfully reflective tone poems the programme closes with a stunning version of Keith Jarrett’s `The Windup` which proceeds at a torrential pace interspersed with a tension relieving rubato passage in which the saxophonist indulges his free style technique before returning to a tumultuous ride out driven along by some exciting rattling percussion.
This is music of a strikingly protean quality in terms of its melodic diversity and rhythmic variability which is perfectly realised by the formidable musical talent at Branford’s disposal. Himself, amongst the most important half dozen sax men on the scene, he is matched in technique by Calderazzo, who, for me, gets more impressive with every appearance both as a master of the sustained burn and a purveyor of deeply affecting romanticism whilst Revis and Faulkner combine to make this one of the most impressive sax lead quartets of the present day.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
