Returning to the town where he used to lead the Tonight Show band, Branford Marsalis reunited with fans and friends by bringing his hard working group of Joey Caldarazzo/p, Eric Revis/b and Justin Faulkner/dr to the acoustically enjoyable Valley Arts Performing Center for almost 2 hours of music that featured synchronized serendipity, digital dexterity and improvised inspiration.
Emphasizing music from his exciting latest album, Marsalis stuck mostly to his soprano sax while covering music ranging from the mourning and agonizing “Maestra,” with its long and wistful lines, to the hip hopping “Samo” that had the band reach crescents of sound like ascending mountain peaks before rushing back down the switchbacks. On tenor, he went mano a mano with drummer Faulkner on “Teo” which included some double fisted blues grooving by Caldarazzo, while “In the Crease” went from tip toe to somersaults with exciting back and forth foraying between the trio rhythm section. A highlight of the evening was a gorgeously undulating “As Summer into Autumn Slips” which had Caldarazzo (just when IS he going to put out another release of his own?) letting his hands produce some gracious piano musings to take the piece from modern classical chamber to ultimate melancholy balladry. Marsalis’ soprano yearned over the soft bedding supplied by the piano keys as time seemed to stand still.
Speaking of time, Marsalis closed the evening by taking the audience back 100 years with a fervent reading of “Tiger Rag” which simply demonstrated that all things good have no time limit. This show will be one for the time capsule as well!
Coming up at the same venue for all you cowboys-Willie Nelson Feb 27
…and don’t forget Sonny Rollins is heading this way Apr 2. Don’t miss out!