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Branford Marsalis: Braggtown

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Marsalis Music
Released: 2006.09.12
Time:
 74:00
Category: Jazz
Producer(s): Branford Marsalis
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.branfordmarsalis.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2012
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Jack Baker (Branford Marsalis) - 14:12
[2] Hope (Joey Calderazzo) - 11:01
[3] Fate (Branford Marsalis) - 08:24
[4] Blakzilla (Jeff "Tain" Watts) - 12:40
[5] O Solitude (Henry Purcell) - 07:48
[6] Sir Roderick, the Aloof (Branford Marsalis) - 05:45
[7] Black Elk Speaks (Eric Revis) - 14:10

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Branford Marsalis - Saxophones, Producer
Joey Calderazzo - Piano
Eric Revis - Bass
Jeff "Tain" Watts - Drums

Greg Calbi - Mastering
William Beatty - Photography
Rick Dior - Assistant Engineer
Arnold Levine - Art Direction, Design, Photography
Jay Denmark - Photography
Phil Romano - Piano Tuner
A.B. Spellman - Liner Notes

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Recorded between March 13–16, 2006 at Hayti Heritage Center, Durham, NC.



Yes, this release is from 2006, but I just got my hands on a copy and have to say I can see why it made many best of lists from last year. I've always had faith in Branford, even when others (including his famous brother) dissed him for performing with Sting and doing the Tonight Show gig and acting in movies, etc. He had tremendous talent and although his albums were good and often quite interesting in their experimentation and merging of styles, it was thought they were often less focused then some would wish. This all changed in recent years, when he began to seriously emulate his forebears, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane.

Therefore it is such a pleasure to listen to Braggtown, which may be Branford's best recording yet. Featuring a high-powered quartet of pianist Joey Calderazzo and bassist Eric Revis, the album is nonetheless propelled by Marsalis' incendiary playing backed by the creative work by drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts.

The intense "Jack Baker" starts things off at full steam and is a true highlight, with Marsalis burning hot tenor licks echoing Coltrane, while Watts provides enough firepower underneath to rival the bandleader. Calderazzos playing even sounds somewhat like McCoy Tyner's work with the classic Coltrane quartet.

As perhaps the best soprano sax player since Wayne Shorter, nearly half the album is filled with slow ballads like the delicate "Hope" that are in a similar vein to the music on his all ballad album "Eternal" (2004), and these pieces are lovely and emotional. No one else plays the soprano sax like this. In fact this instrument is notorious for being misused, but Branford is a master and the lines he coaxes from his sax during the climax of this song are entrancing.

"Fate" adds a bit of a Latin touch to another slower tempo ballad that features a wonderful Calderazzo solo and some long lyrical lines from Marsalis. Watts' "Blakzilla" lumbers powerfully in 13/8 with Revis and Watts laying down the rhythm and allowing Marsalis to blow Coltrane-inspired (but not stolen) licks. Featuring another stellar drum solo by Watts, one of the best and most creative drummers of the current era, this tune is heart-pounding and satisfying with another great solo by Tain.

The classical and jazz worlds meet on Henry Purcell's "O Solitude," and reminds one of just how multi-talented Branford has always been. Like his brother Wynton, he seems equally at home in either genre, turning this piece into a haunting mixture of styles. "Sir Roderick, the Aloof" is like its title, a bit odd, but charming anyway, with nice solos by Revis and Calderazzo and of course, Marsalis on soprano.

Finally, the album ending "Black Elk Speaks" is a powerful composition full of righteous anger and energy. The entire band attacks relentlessly until the middle section when Calderazzo takes an extended solo that moves from highly-original tonal adventures back into more of a straight ahead jazz feel in a very creative manner. Revis takes a beautifully brutal solo while chanting "Today is a beautiful day to die" before plunging back into the main theme and ending on a long cry on Marsalis' tenor. Heady, aggressive stuff that is well worth the trip to Braggtown.

Brad Walseth - JazzChicago.net



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.

Matt Collar - All Music Guide



When this Marsalis quartet came to Ronnie Scott's in November 2001, hardened jazzers had a tear in the eye. Saxophonist Branford had forged a muscular, mature style from the works of Coltrane, Ornette Coleman and Sonny Rollins, and found three ideal partners in pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts. A series of UK concert-hall appearances since haven't quite recaptured that first fire, but the group is back at Ronnie's in mid-October, and this album suggests it might be getting close to its best.

The set is a more or less equal balance of high-energy burns and dreamy ballads. The burns exert a heat that makes you flinch, and the slow pieces display a new tonal purity from Marsalis's soprano, and a mix of fragility and focus from Calderazzo. Opener Jack Baker sounds like an early Coltrane Quartet scorcher, but Marsalis finds his own eerie, violin-like tone. His lovely soprano and Calderazzo's reflectiveness reinvent Purcell's O Solitude, and Black Elk Speaks has the bumpy coherence of an Ornette Coleman melody.

John Fordham - 8 September 2006
© 2015 Guardian News and Media



"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! could be one of the underlying messages of Braggtown. While other jazz groups are experimenting with a variety of artistic freedoms, including odd instruments, spoken word, hip-hop and electronica, Branford Marsalis and his quartet are staunch on the path of hard bopping, straight-ahead acoustic music.

The music is in fact a continuation of their past three recordings on the Marsalis Music label—Eternal (2004), Romare Bearden Revealed (2003) and Footsteps of Our Fathers (2002)—which are cognizant of the heritage of jazz, yet always press forward. Whether you think jazz should be modernized or canonized, when it all said and done, this release documents a quartet at its peak, delivering its strongest recording to date.

While there's nothing new stylistically here, Braggtown offers fresh compositions from each member of the quartet, showcasing their collective bond through unique interpretations. The music as a whole is a reflection of the quartet's past and present. On Marsalis' incendiary "Jack Baker, his tenor saxophone wails, sings and digs deep within the pocket while the quartet delivers a relentless performance that would make Coltrane smile.

"Hope is another beautiful ballad penned by Joey Calderazzo, exhibiting contrasting sounds of individual isolation and group unity. The pianist plays quietly with deep emotion, then builds to a feverish pitch accompanying Marsalis' blistering soprano crescendo. "Blackzilla, penned by Jeff "Tain Watts, could be the echoes of Harlem's past or urban streets today, complete with meticulous timing, extended solos and Watts' explosive drum work.

Marsalis has always had an interest in classical music, as evidenced on Creation (Sony, 1999), and here he pulls out an obscure gem, "O Solitude, by the 17th Century composer Henry Purcell. Proving that all music can exhibit a "groove, Revis' persistent bass pattern threads the austere melody as the piano and soprano sax articulate soulful and moving solos. With the same chamber-esque essence comes the colorful "Sir Roderick, the Aloof, penned by Marsalis, revealing his penchant for both structure and creativity.

The recording closes with the smoking gun of "Black Elk Speaks, written by Revis. This complex piece stirs hard swing and free jazz dialects, and each musician throws his instrument wildly and skillfully onto the canvas. Revis delivers a memorable bass solo spotted with outrageous vocalizations and superb fret work. This level of high musicianship exemplifies Braggtown, which should once again put the quartet on the year's best list.

Mark F. Turner - September 10, 2006
© 2014 All About Jazz



Tenor/soprano saxophonist Branford Marsalis is a master of the "burnout"--an intense but deliberate and focused style of jazz that has its roots in John Coltrane. Unlike many Trane-ologists, however, Marsalis uses Trane's concepts instead of the master's notes. On Braggtown, named for a neighborhood in Durham, North Carolina, Marsalis delivers a virtual clinic on how to play 21st-century jazz, with drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts, pianist Joey Calderazzo, and bassist Eric Revis. The pieces range from the uptempo "Jack Baker" and "Blakzilla"--Watts's polyrhythmic props to Godzilla--to the reverent rendition of the 17th-century composer Henry Purcell’s "O Solitude," and Revis's intense, long-form composition, "Black Elk Speaks," complete with his impassioned, Mingusian bass solo, with references to Star Trek: The Next Generation. On all of the tracks Marsalis's tone is impossibly brilliant and burnished, and for my money, this recording is the worthy successor to his 1990 masterpiece, Crazy People Music.

Eugene Holley Jr. - Amazon.com



Braggtown is an album released by The Branford Marsalis Quartet in 2006. The album, following the 2004 Grammy-nominated Eternal, draws upon a world of inspirations, including John Coltrane, a 17th-century English composer, an American Indian Warrior and a Japanese horror film. Marsalis chose some of the new songs from the band's current repertoire, with an emphasis on what he describes as "that kind of high-energy music we've been playing in live performance." This album was named after Braggtown, a neighborhood located in the northeastern corner of Durham, North Carolina, as Marsalis has been a resident of the Durham area for the past few years. The cover of the album shows the four musicians in a locker room in the baseball stadium Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

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