Branford Marsalis
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Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American jazz saxophonist.
He began his professional career in the early 1980s playing with Art Blakey's big band, Clark Terry, and Blakey's Jazz Messengers. From 1982 to 1985 he played with his brother Wynton's group, then left to play in Sting's backup band. He also toured with Miles Davis in one of the latter's last bands. In 1986 he set up his own group. From 1992 to 1995 he was musical director of the Tonight Show Band. He then set up the Buckshot LeFonque project which intended to combine jazz with rhythm and blues, hip hop, and rock.
He is the oldest of the four Marsalis brothers, who are all jazz musicians, as is their father Ellis Marsalis.
Works
- Scenes In The City
- Romances for Saxophone - some little pieces of classical evergreens
- Royal Garden Blues
- Renaissance - on "The Peacocks": Herbie Hancock – Piano, Buster Williams - Bass
- Random Abstract
- Trio Jeepy - an album of standards featuring Milt Hinton (bass) and Jeff Watts (drums)
- Do The Right Thing - music composed and conducted by Bill Lee
- Mo' Better Blues - soundtrack to the movie
- Crazy People Music
- The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born - with guests Wynton Marsalis (trumpet) and Courtney Pine (tenor saxophone)
- I Heard You Twice The First Time - Branford's quartet pairs up with some Jazz and Blues greats (including B.B.King, Rip Tip Johnson) for a romp through the history of African-American music. Grammy Winner in category Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual Or Group
- Bloomington - live recording (magnificent atmosphere)
- Buckshot LeFonque
- Music Evolution - the second Buckshot LeFonque project
- Loved Ones - a duet with his father Ellis Marsalis (piano)
- Requiem - recorded days before the death of and dedicated to pianist Kenny Kirkland, this album is undeniably one of The Branford Marsalis Quartet's greatest and most immediate works
- The Dark Keys
- Creation - some classical music rearranged for saxophone and orchestra
- Contemporary Jazz - that's what it is. Grammy Winner in category Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
- Footsteps of our Fathers - Branford again revisits the works of past masters, interpreting the tunes from his own angle
- Romare Bearden Revealed - CD Issued in Conjunction with The Art of Romare Bearden (american painter)
- Eternal
Branford also appears as a sideman on:
- Dream of the Blue Turtles - Sting
- Bring on the Night - Sting (live album)
- Black Codes (From the Underground) - Wynton Marsalis
- You Won't Forget Me - Shirley Horn. Branford appears on the track "It Had to be You"
- Karma - Robin Eubanks. On track 7 The Yearning and track 10 Remember When
- JLW - Joe Louis Walker. On track 4 Inner City Man.de:Branford Marsalis