by Shawn Nowlin
In the world of jazz, Branford Marsalis is in a class of his own. Over the last four decades, Marsalis, 62, has accumulated a resume that is second to none: a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz album, an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of Music, recipient of the prestigious S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen, numerous Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certifications, among countless other achievements.
In addition to writing a Tony-nominated musical score for August Wilson’s “Fences” on Broadway, Marsalis also wrote the film score for Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing.
On March 9, hundreds filled up the Shaftman Performance Hall at the Jefferson Center to enjoy some of the best jazz music that the genre has to offer. The show, which began at 7:30 p.m., featured Marsalis on saxophone and his quartet contemporaries Eric Revis (bass quarter), Joey Calderazzo (piano), and Justin Faulkner (drums). From the start, Marsalis commanded the stage like a consummate professional.
Bronze seat tickets went for $35 while silver seat, gold seat, and premium seat tickets cost $40, $50, and $65, respectively. William Mobley surprised his wife with a date night at the concert. “I made a promise at the start of the New Year that I would take my wife on more dates. Time flies by so fast that you look up, and it’s already a different season,” he said. “Fans of jazz music know quality when they hear it. I asked my wife her honest thoughts while we were driving home, and she said she enjoyed every minute of the concert in our bronze seats.”
Adults of a certain age remember seeing Jay Leno regularly interview Marsalis after he won his Grammy Award. So impressed was Leno with Marsalis’ talents that once he took over for Johnny Carson in 1992, the position of musical director for “The Tonight Show” went to Marsalis.
Seeing the Marsalis Quartet perform live was on Tracy Barber’s bucket list for several years. Sitting front row last Thursday, many of the cuts performed were familiar to Barber because he already had them on his Spotify playlist. “Everyone in attendance got to see why Branford is one of the most revered figures ever in contemporary music,” he said. “Experiences like this do not happen every day which is why I made sure to live in the moment.”
Outside of music, Marsalis holds workshops all over the world and has taught at North Carolina Central University, San Francisco State University, and Michigan State University.
