Branford Marsalis Quartet

Branford Marsalis has stayed the course. From his early acclaim as a saxophonist bringing new energy and new audiences to jazz, he has refined and expanded his talents and his horizons as a musician, composer, bandleader, and educator – a 21st century mainstay of artistic excellence. The NEA Jazz Master, Grammy Award winner and Tony Award nominee is equally at home performing concertos with symphony orchestras and sitting in with members of the Grateful Dead, but the core of his musical universe remains the BRANFORD MARSALIS QUARTET.

Known for the telepathic communication among its uncommonly consistent personnel, its deep book of original music replete with expressive melodies and provocative forms, and an unrivaled spirit in both live and recorded performances, the BRANFORD MARSALIS QUARTET has long been recognized as the standard to which other ensembles of its kind must be measured.

After more than three decades of existence with minimal personnel changes, this celebrated ensemble is revered for its uncompromising interpretation of a kaleidoscopic range of both original compositions and jazz and popular classics. After the Grammy‐nominated Upward Spiral, on which guest vocalist Kurt Elling was seamlessly integrated into the group, the Quartet has followed up with the Grammy‐nominated The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul, its most emotionally wide‐ranging and melody driven collection to date. John Zeugner captured the impact of the Quartet in live performance in a recent concert review, calling it “casually confident, professional, cerebral, and supercharged with energy. The BRANFORD MARSALIS QUARTET… was all of those adjectives and more.”