Saxophonist<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Branford<\/span>\u00a0Marsalis is one of the most influential and revered figures in contemporary music. The NEA Jazz Master, GRAMMY\u00ae winner, and Tony Award\u00ae 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\u00a0<\/span>Branford<\/span>\u00a0Marsalis Quartet. 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\u00ae\u2010nominated\u00a0<\/span>Upward Spiral<\/span><\/i>, on which guest vocalist Kurt Elling was seamlessly integrated into the group, the quartet has followed up with the GRAMMY\u00ae-nominated\u00a0<\/span>The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul<\/span><\/i>, its most emotionally wide\u2010ranging and melody-driven collection to date. John\u00a0<\/span>Zeugner<\/span>\u00a0captured the impact of the quartet in live performance in a recent concert review, calling it \u201ccasually confident, professional, cerebral, and supercharged with energy. The\u00a0<\/span>Branford<\/span>\u00a0Marsalis Quartet . . . was all of those adjectives and more.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After four decades in the international spotlight, Marsalis\u2019s achievements\u00a0<\/span>continue<\/span>\u00a0to grow. From his initial recognition as a young jazz lion, he has expanded his vision as an instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, and educator, crossing stylistic boundaries while maintaining\u00a0<\/span>an unwavering<\/span>\u00a0creative integrity. Growing up in the rich environment of New Orleans as the oldest son of pianist and educator, the late Ellis Marsalis,\u00a0Branford\u00a0was drawn to music along with siblings Wynton,\u00a0<\/span>Delfeayo<\/span>, and Jason. His work on Broadway has garnered a Drama Desk Award and Tony\u00ae nominations for the acclaimed revivals of\u00a0<\/span>Children of a Lesser God<\/span><\/i>,\u00a0<\/span>Fences<\/span><\/i>, and\u00a0<\/span>A Raisin in the Sun<\/span><\/i>. His screen credits include original music composed for Spike Lee\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Mo\u2019 Better Blues<\/span><\/i>,\u00a0<\/span>Henrietta Lacks<\/span><\/i>\u00a0starring Oprah Winfrey, and the recent Oscar\u00ae nominee\u00a0<\/span>Ma Rainey\u2019s Black Bottom<\/span><\/i>, starring Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “Branford\u00a0Marsalis\u2019 quartet has been a model of daring, unapologetic artistry for the past three decades.\u201d \u2014\u00a0<\/span>Jazziz<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “Branford\u00a0Marsalis performs and speaks with a combination of fire and tenderness, with idealism and irreverence.\u201d \u2014\u00a0<\/span>PopMatters<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The\u00a0Branford\u00a0Marsalis Quartet is known for its uncompromising interpretation of a kaleidoscopic range of both original compositions and jazz and popular classics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":9876,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"tags":[198,197],"tribe_events_cat":[27],"acf":[],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Scottsdale Center For The Performing Arts","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events\/9866"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/tribe_events"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events\/9866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9866"},{"taxonomy":"tribe_events_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsdaleperformingarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events_cat?post=9866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}