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Branford Marsalis: Contemporary Jazz

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Clumbia Jazz Records
Released: 2000
Time:
 73:54
Category: Jazz
Producer(s): Branford Marsalis, Rob "Wacko!" Hunter
Rating: *********. (9/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.branfordmarsalis.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2000.09.23
Price in €: 16,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] In The Crease (Marsalis) - 6:49
[2] Requiem (Marsalis) - 10:19
[3] Elysium (Marsalis) - 16:03
[4] Cheek To Cheek (Berlin) - 8:47
[5] Tain Mutiny (Marsalis) - 8:23
[6] Ayanna (Revis) - 6:03
[7] Countronious Rex (Watts) - 17:26

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Branford Marsalis - Saxophones
Joey Calderazzo - Piano
Jeff "Train" Wazzs - Drums
Eric Revis - Bass

Rob "Wacko" Hunter - Engineer, Mixing
Brandon Mason - Engineer
Greg Calbi - Mastering
Arnold Levine - Art Direction
Josh Cheuse - Art Direction, Design
Rafi Zabor - Liner Notes

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


This album was much anticipated, for it would be Branford Marsalis's first since the death of his longtime pianist Kenny Kirkland. Happily, it is a knockout. While no one can entirely recreate the famed chemistry that existed between Kirkland and Marsalis, pianist Joey Calderazzo does a marvelous job handling the extraordinary complexity, energy, and beauty of Marsalis's music. Bassist Eric Revis and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts, both of whom played on 1999's Requiem (which wound up being the last recording of Kirkland's life), carry on here in the spirit of their departed friend, fleshing out Marsalis's increasingly challenging ensemble concepts and — most importantly — swinging like men possessed.

"In the Crease" and "Tain Mutiny," with their unpredictable twists and turns, are indicative of the gravitas of Marsalis's work ever since he left his post at The Tonight Show. But the album's high point is a lengthy take of "Elysium," a tune that appeared on Requiem as a trio piece, an aesthetic choice necessitated by the sudden death of Kirkland who never had a chance to play on the track. Here the full quartet weighs in, deftly executing a dizzying series of tempo shifts and subtle cues, all seamlessly worked into a fabric of extended, burning improvisation.

These no-nonsense tracks are counterbalanced by the ecstatic, Latin-tinged playfulness of Irving Berlin's "Cheek to Cheek" and Watts's "Countronius Rex," an incredibly quirky piece of soul-jazz that vaguely recalls the theme from The Jeffersons. On a more placid note, Revis's "Ayanna" takes the band into beautiful slow waltz territory, while Marsalis's "Requiem," clearly inspired by the late Kirkland, sighs with a rubato lyricism quite similar to "A Thousand Autumns" and "Cassandra," two tracks from the previous record. Finally, "Sleepy Hollow," a slow blues tucked away at the end of the program as a hidden track, sounds as though the band just let the tape roll as they warmed down from the session. It's a delightfully unrehearsed moment, perhaps a closing homage to Kirkland, drawn from deep down in the tradition.

David R. Adler, All-Music Guide



Das Album Contemporary Jazz von Branford Marsalis hat den passenden Titel; es ist eine Übersicht über den Jazz, wie er sich im ersten Jahr des 21. Jahrhunderts präsentiert. Die Musik gehört überwiegend zum Bop und Post-Bop und ist ganz sicher tief verwurzelt in den bekannten Traditionen des Jazz, aber das Marsalis-Quartett ist nicht von der Vergangenheit belastet (wie die derbe Coverversion von "Cheek to Cheek" bezeugt). Marsalis beginnt das Album mit dem zugänglichen, aber schrägen "In the Crease" und bewegt sich von hier ausgehend bis hin zu dem elegischen "Requiem", in dem ein dunkles, feuriges Temperament glimmt. Wirklich los geht es mit dem Herzstück dieses Albums "Elysium". Hier testet die Band -- der Pianist Joey Calderazzo, der Bassist Eric Revis und der Schlagzeuger Jeff "Tain" Watts -- ihr Können, wenn sie alle frei spielen, ausbrechen und die Rhythmen und Melodien dieses 16 Minuten langen Stückes auf- und abspielen. Vielleicht ist der interessanteste Track Tains "Countronious Rex", bei dem das Quartett sich mit lässigem Charme nahtlos zwischen Gospel, Blues und Jazz bewegt.

Marsalis und Co. geben einen guten Überblick über den Jazz und seine vielen Formen; es gelingt ihnen, ein lebendiges, musikalisches Kompendium zu schaffen. Und sie tun dies mit einer Ausstrahlung, die wie das Spiel von Marsalis schöpferisch und ausdrucksstark ist.

Tad Hendrickson, Amazon.de



Branford Marsalis's aptly titled Contemporary Jazz is a survey of jazz happening as the 21st century rounds the bend of its first year. The mostly bop and postbop music is certainly rooted in jazz's known traditions, but Marsalis's quartet isn't burdened by the past (as the raucous cover of "Cheek to Cheek" attests). Marsalis starts the album with the accessible but shifty "In the Crease" and moves from there to the elegiac "Requiem," which smolders with dark fire. Things really take off at the album's centerpiece, "Elysium." Here, the band--pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis, and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts--test their mettle as they break free and stretch out, turning rhythms and melodies inside out over the song's 16 minutes. Perhaps the most interesting of the tracks is Tain's "Countronious Rex," where the quartet seamlessly shifts between gospel, blues, and jazz with offhand grace. Giving a fine overview of jazz and its many forms, Marsalis and company succeed in creating a vivid musical compendium. And they do it with a flair that, like Marsalis's playing, is searching and articulate.

Tad Hendrickson, Amazon.com



Branford Marsalis' Contemporary Jazz surveys the wide range of styles suggested by its title. "In the Crease" flies through complex meters, full of shifting polyrhythms, serpentine melodies, and angular harmonies. "Requiem," a gorgeous, Keith Jarrett-tinged ballad, was originally going to be the title track of Marsalis' previous album, but was left off. "Elysium" was on his preceding Requiem, but gets a different treatment here, not only because this version has piano (played by Joey Calderazzo), but also because it opens with Marsalis overblowing, sounding as though he's nodding to labelmate David S. Ware's free power-blowing.
The standard "Cheek to Cheek" gets refurbished as uptempo swing, with its accents shifted all over by Marsalis and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts -- who's the subject and star of the following track, "Tain Mutiny." Bassist Eric Revis' ballad "Ayanna" harks back to Wayne Shorter at his most introspective, while Watts' "Countronious Rex" mixes down-home blues and soul with some tricky rhythm shifts. And, as if enough styles hadn't been covered already, there's a hidden bonus track at the end -- the slow blues "Sleepy Hollow," on which Marsalis waxes seductive, making the comparison to Ben Webster's style unavoidable and loveable.

Marsalis long ago reached the point where his playing is distinctive enough, whether on tenor or soprano sax, that, no matter what stylistic mold it's decanted into, no tracks seem atypical for him. As much as anything, that's what sets him apart from his peers, and what makes his albums such refreshing listening adventures.

Steve Holtje, CDNOW Senior Jazz Writer
 

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