Sax great brings quartet to Yoshi's in SF

Publication: KTVU.com
Date: September 22, 2011

One of the most influential saxophone players of his generation returns to the Bay Area for an extended run of performances at Yoshi’s in San Francisco. Grammy award-winning saxophonist Branford Marsalis has made a career out of ably exploring a number of different musical avenues ranging from swinging straight-ahead sounds to classical to pop and hip-hop. The oldest son of noted New Orleans pianist Ellis Marsalis, Branford and his trumpet-playing brother Wynton are often credited with the early ‘80s resurgence of interest in the traditional hard-bop style of such legends as Cannonball Adderley and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. 

 But unlike his more orthodox sibling Wynton, Branford had no problem reconciling his jazz and classical training with forays into pop music. When Police singer/bassist Sting launched a solo career, the jazz-minded backing band on his debut ‘Dream of the Blue Turtles’ was anchored by Marsalis and his frequent collaborator Kenny Kirkland on keyboards. Despite a busy touring and recording schedule with the British pop star, the saxophonist never neglected his own career. The ferocious Coltrane-influenced quartet Marsalis led featuring the late Kirkland (who passed away from congestive heart failure in 1998), bassist Robert Hurst and monster drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts is widely considered one of the great acoustic jazz groups of the ‘80s and ’90s. 

 The saxophonist also reaped the benefits of his higher public profile by landing the job as band leader for ‘The Tonight Show’ in 1992 after Jay Leno officially took over as host for the retired Johnny Carson, though he surprisingly left the position after only two years in the spotlight to focus on his own projects. Marsalis took his own stab at the pop charts with the hip-hop/jazz venture Buckshot LeFonque, but he found far more critical success with his progressively edgier jazz exploration. Marsalis comes to with his long-time group featuring pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis and 20-year-old drum phenomenon Justin Faulkner to perform standards and newer songs drawn from the saxophonist’s new classically tinged duo effort with Calderazzo, ‘Songs of Mirth and Melancholy’ released on his own Marsalis Music label.

 Branford Marsalis Quartet
Wednesday-Sunday, Sept. 21-25, 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. (7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Sun.) $20-$40
  Yoshi’s San Francisco