The Marsalis Family: Music Redeems (2010)

One of the most famous of New Orleans' multigenerational jazz families, it is extraordinarily rare for the Marsalis clan to assemble all together in one place. However, approaching Father's Day of last year, the family gathered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., to honor its patriarch and the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival's Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Ellis Marsalis. With sons Branford on saxophones, Wynton on trumpet, Delfeayo on trombone, Jason on drums, poet Ellis III reciting a piece written especially for his father for the occasion, and special guests Dr. Billy Taylor and family friend Harry Connick, Jr., Ellis inspired an evening of lively performances of repertoire with special meaning to the Marsalis Family, punctuated by family stories and anecdotes about growing up in New Orleans.

All proceeds from the project will go straight to programming support for the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, an education center and heart of the New Orleans Musicians' Village community, conceived in 2005 by Branford Marsalis and Harry Connick Jr. in partnership with New Orleans Habitat for Humanity following Hurricane Katrina.

Tracklist
01 - Introducing (the Marsalis Family)
02 - Donna Lee
03 - Wynton and Branford Speak
04 - Monkey Puzzle
05 - After
06 - Syndrome
07 - Sweet Georgia Brown
08 - Harry Speaks
09 - Teo
10 - The Man and the Ocean
11 - At the House in Da Pocket
12 - The 2nd Line
Music Redeems
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Branford Marsalis Trio: The Dark Keys (1996)

Dark Keys is Branford Marsalis' first major solo album since taking a leave from recording to be the musical director of The Tonight Show in 1993. Instead of following through with the hip-hop inclinations of Buckshot LeFonque, Marsalis has returned to traditional jazz, yet this is far from standard bop. Marsalis pushes at the borders of post-bop, adding elements of hip-hop and rock & roll, making for an adventurous and exciting listen.

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Dark Keys (RS) / Dark Keys (HF) @ 320K

Terence Blanchard: Wandering Moon (2000)

Terence Blanchard emerged as a young lion in the 1980s along with his New Orleans homeboy and fellow trumpeter, Wynton Marsalis. Blanchard released several recordings with Donald Harrison and scored a few soundtracks, including Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues and Malcolm X. This splendid album follows his film music tribute, Jazz in Film, and returns Blanchard to the straight-ahead fold. With an even singing and swinging tone, Blanchard is backed by drummer Eric Harland, pianist Ed Simon, and newcomer alto and tenor saxophonists Brice Winston and Aaron Fletcher. The legendary bassist Dave Holland anchors the bottom and ensures the grooves. Blanchard's melodically compelling compositions range from the mystical moods of "Luna Viajera" and "Sweet's Dream" (an elegy to the late trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison) to the uptempo "Sidney's Song" (for clarinetist Sidney Bechet), which recall's Blanchard's days with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. On board for Wandering Moon is another Jazz Messenger alumnus, tenor saxophonist Branford Marsalis, who displays his Wayne Shorter/John Coltrane solo signature on the '60s-style tunes "If I Could, I Would," "My Only Thought of You," and "Joe & O." On the standard "I Thought About You," Blanchard takes center stage with an ebullient trumpet voice that rings from the silver screen to the bandstand. --Eugene Holley, Jr.

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Wandering Moon (RS) / Wandering Moon (MU) @ 320K

Marsalis Family: A Jazz Celebration (2003) mp3 @ 320K

The Marsalis Family was a one-off project assembled for a 1982 Columbia recording date. Pianist Ellis Marsalis teamed up with his young-lion sons Wynton (trumpet) and Branford (tenor sax) (though brothers Delfeayo and Jason were too young to participate). Together, with bassist Charles Fambrough and drummer James Black, the Marsalis Family recorded five tunes that made up half of the LP Fathers and Sons (the other half featured the father-son saxophone team of Von and Chico Freeman). It wasn't the first or last time the three recorded together, but it was the only time they were specifically billed as the Marsalis Family. (115MB)

Branford Marsalis Quartet: Braggtown (2006) [remastered] mp3 @ 320K

Saxophonist Branford Marsalis' Braggtown finds the ever-evolving tenor man in a more action-oriented state of mind than his contemplative 2004 release Eternal. Having tackled the gigantically epic task of reworking John Coltrane's most well-known opus "A Love Supreme" on Footsteps of Our Fathers in 2002, it should come as no surprise that the Coltrane sound still lingers palpably over all the music on Braggtown. But rather than imitating or aping Coltrane's style, Marsalis has ingested the legendary innovator's concepts, utilizing them in his own unique way. Working once again with his stellar rhythm section of pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis, and longtime partner in "time" drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts, Marsalis has come up with a collection of original songs perfectly suited for the muscular and sensitive group interplay this ensemble excels at. To these ends, "Jack Baker" is a funky and angular call to arms with Marsalis inverting a repeated theme as the band roils around him. Quickly changing gears, Marsalis moves to his trademark soprano for the gorgeously plaintive Calderazzo ballad "Hope." The noirish, dramatic "Blakzilla" features a bawdy and moody rubato opening that soon descends to a hyperkinetic bluesy mid-section. Interestingly, recalling his superb classical album Creation, Marsalis has re-purposed Henry Purcell's stately and sad ballad "O Solitude" here as well. The other tracks on Braggtown are equally engaging and, as evidenced by the fiery, avant-garde burn out closer "Black Elk Speaks," speak to Marsalis' abundant creative energy. (169MB)