All press News

Marsalis pianist Calderazzo to make a welcome return

Publication: Kansas City Star
By: Joe Klopus
Date: December 1, 2010

 

One good turn deserves another. So, less than a month after he was in town with the Branford Marsalis Quartet, pianist Joey Calderazzo is back on Saturday at the helm of his own trio.

Calderazzo, appearing this time at the Blue Room, has spent 12 years in the Marsalis quartet and has been associated with the saxophonist for upward of 20 years. But, as he’ll prove Saturday, he’s no mere sideman.

A native New Yorker, he’s one of those “young lions” who emerged in the 1980s. A lot of people first heard him with tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker about 1987.

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Submitted by Bobby on December 16th, 2010 — 02:20pm

The Marsalis Family: Music Redeems

Publication:  PopMatters
By: Benjamin Aspray
Date: September 9, 2010

Affable humility radiates from Music Redeems, a live recording of the Marsalis family’s performance at the JFK Center in D.C. The whole prodigious clan was there: brothers Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo, and Jason on trumpet, sax, trombone, and drums respectively; patriarch Ellis on piano; and Ellis III doing spoken word. Harry Connick Jr., a long-time family friend, also made an appearance. 

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Submitted by Fan on December 15th, 2010 — 02:50pm

From D.C.'s Kennedy Center to East Of Angel Town: Conversations with Branford Marsalis

Publication: The Huffington Post
Author: Mike Ragogna
Date: October 18, 2010

Legendary jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis has been accumulating a series of honors with the upcoming NEA’s Jazz Masters Award being one of the most prestigious yet. He and his brood of familial, musical superstars recently played D.C.’s Kennedy Center, and that recording has been released as the album Music Redeems that unites The Marsalis Family with guests such as honorary offspring, Harry Connick, Jr.

The project’s profits will fund The Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, a New Orleans-based organization dedicated to keeping the arts lively for young people. Read more »

Submitted by Bobby on October 18th, 2010 — 10:04am

Good Works: Marsalis Family Live CD Benefiting New Orleans Education Center

Publication: Billboard
Author: Mitchell Peters
Date: October 16, 2010
 

In June 2009, New Orleans’ Marsalis family of jazz musicians - father Ellis (piano) and sons Branford (saxophone), Wynton (trumpet), Delfeayo (trombone) and Jason (drums) - gathered for a rare, sold-out performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

During the evening, Ellis received the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition, the National Endowment for the Arts honored the Marsalis family with a 2011 Jazz Masters Award.

Since the family performs together so infrequently, the artists decided to record the June concert. Months later, Branford listened to the recording and was pleased with what he heard. “I said, ‘Wow, this is pretty good, actually,’ he says. “It was a lot of fun too. Read more »

Submitted by Bobby on October 12th, 2010 — 10:20am

Outspoken Branford Marsalis loyal to music

Publication: Toledo Blade
Author: Rod Lockwood
Date: October 6, 2010

Famed musician to interact with students, play at BGSU

By 2000 Branford Marsalis had played with Art Blakey, Miles Davis, his brother Wynton Marsalis, Clark Terry, the Grateful Dead, and Sting, among countless other musical luminaries.

He had led The Tonight Show band for Jay Leno, attended the Berklee College of Music, and recorded seven albums. Marsalis, a three-time Grammy winner who by then was a household name — at least in homes where people sit around talking about jazz — was 40 years old and already had accomplished more musically than someone far older.

All of which added up to just one thing for Marsalis and it had nothing to do with congratulating himself for being so good.

It was time for a new challenge, in this case making a major foray into the world of classical music, which is obviously a lot different than the jazz and pop genres where he was most comfortable. The move meant learning an entirely new form of music and taking the chance on failing.

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Submitted by Bobby on October 7th, 2010 — 09:58am