Branford Marsalis: Steep Tradition

Branford Marsalis (saxophone; b. 1960)

Branford Marsalis is the oldest brother of the very famous Marsalis musical family. He has built his impeccable catalog of recordings in pop, rock, classical, hip-hop, film and university teaching. He and his quartet also had a brief stint on television as Jay Leno's house band on The Tonight Show when Jay first took over from Johnny Carson. But at the end of the day Branford Marsalis is and will always be a jazz musician. Not just a jazz musician but one of the leading, most respected, innovative and versatile of his generation.

Branford came to prominence in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers along with brother Wynton. He also performed and recorded with the likes of Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Dizzy Gillespie and Sonny Rollins. His first debut as leader was Scenes In The City (Columbia Records, 1983). Scenes definitely shows Branford's growth as a musician. He would continue to carve out his own direction and identity through a series of phenomenal albums including Royal Garden Blues, Random Abstract, Trio Jeppy, The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born and The Dark Keys.

Branford during this time would also perform with Sting and The Grateful Dead on the pop and rock side, and record soundtracks for Mo Better Blues and Sneakers. He also followed in his brother's footsteps by recording a number of classical releases, including another favorite of mine, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra entitled Creation. A full and diverse musical resume to say the least. In the late '90s Branford started his own label simply called Marsalis Music to develop various projects for himself and other artists (including Harry Connick Jr.).

One of my favourite albums of recent years is his most recent, Metamorphosen (Marsalis Music). Metamorphosen is a return to form of his earlier records--vibrant and rich in melody and invention. Tracks like "The Return Of The Jitney Man," "Jabberwocky," and "Samo" all have the tradmark Branford wit and composed brilliance that has set him apart from the rest of his generation of saxophone players.

With a catalog that includes over a dozen albums, you may be wondering were to start. The best place would be the very well crafted compilation The Steep Anthology (Columbia). The Steep Anthology covers a good selection of his best jazz albums from his years with Columbia. Highlighting some important and outstanding Branford staples; "Doctone," "Royal Garden Blues," "Spartacus," and "The Dark Keys"--it's a great overview of his playing style from cool and collected bop to more complicated melodic rhythms. Well worth the purchase and it will definitely put you in the right direction for finding which album to buy next.

One of the greatest jazz musicians of the last 25 years, Branford Marsalis will certainly will be mentioned in the same pantheon as legendary saxophonists, Coltrane, Hawkins, Rollins and Gordon in the next 25 years.

Martin France: Spin Marvel

Spin Marvel (group; formed 2007)
The Reluctantly Politicised Mr. James (Edition Records)

Martin France (drums, electronics)
Tim Harries (bass)
Nils Petter Molvaer (trumpet)
John Parricelli (guitar)
Terje Evensen (percussion)

Edition Records out of England, is quickly becoming a label where you will most likely purchase any record they release. Like other highly creative and passionate labels, Clean Feed, Rune Grammofon and Fresh Sound/New Talent, Edition Records are signing and releasing some truly challenging albums of late. My most recent encounter is Spin Marvel, a collective overseen by the versatile drummer, Martin France. France has worked in multiple forums, experimental, big band and small groups. He can be heard on albums by Kenny Wheeler (trumpet), John Taylor (piano), Bugge Wesseltoft (piano), Sidsel Endresen (voice) and a list could go on.

The Reluctantly Politicised Mr. James is Spin Marvel's second album, first for Edition Records. There may be similarities to the Norwegian jazz scene which are unavoidable considering the lineup but Spin Marvel have produced an album layered in eclectic grooves and infused by really sense of exploration. The Reluctantly Politicised Mr. James is a real tour de force that isn't a wash in experimental noise that some of other European outfits use as their platform. That lineup includes the always hypnotic and hauntingly beautiful work of Nils Petter Molaver on trumpet and the outstanding ethereal guitar soundscapes of John Parricelli.

The albums opener, the title track, signals the free flowing adventure of ...Mr. James takes. On "Two Metalled Tendrils/Ten Stairs Stretching," Molvaer, Parricelli and France dominate but you can feel this a complete band thinking as one. At times this reminds me of Last Exit or Praxis in which the group moves from chaotic dissonance to ambient beauty. "Dust In Eyebeam" is another chilling piece of sound sculpture that highlights Spin Marvels journey of experimentation, simpatico and vision of space with limitless possibilities.

Spin Marvel may not be for everyone but The Reluctantly Politicised Mr. James is an experiment that delivers the right outcome with every listen.

The Intersection: Jon Hassell

The Intersection is an occasional feature on JazzWrap that looks at artists that blend jazz with electronica (a tradition pioneered by none other than Miles Davis on such classic recordings as On The Corner and Bitches Brew).

Jon Hassell (trumpet; electronics)

There is no mistaking Jon Hassell for anyone else. His electronically treated trumpet sounds at times reptilian, but also like a desert wind through a narrow canyon. No other trumpet player sounds quite as primal as Hassell. He's tapped into something beyond our pedestrian notions of "ethnic" and "exotic". He's gone native, but you'd be hard pressed to say definitively what culture it is. Sure, there are tell-tale Javanese gamelan-isms and Afro-beat stutter steps, but there's nothin conventional about any of it. It's just Hassell.

But it's not just Hassell's trumpet that sound utterly otherworldly, its the rhythms and atmospherics surrounding it as well. The skittering percussion and pulsating synth textures overlap and interweave like a tapestry of a design indecipherable as it flutters in the gusts of his alien horn blasts.

Hassell, if you were hitherto unaware, is the avant-garde trumpeter best known for creating what he calls Fourth World music, an amalgamation of ethnic and contemporary classical musics. His sound is somewhat reminiscent of Miles Davis's Stockhausian moments during his early '70s fusion period, and while Hassell's muted tones deliver fragmented phrases much like Miles during that protean period, the similarity is superficial at best. While Miles was clearly tapping into his African heritage (as well as American funk) on albums like Agharta and Pangaea, Hassell is embracing something without clear borders. Don't get me wrong -- Miles' electric period is some deep shit -- but Hassell is into something deep and mysterious.

And yet... I can't help but associate various Hassell's albums with the work of other artists, specifically writers. Listen to Possible Musics, his 1980 collaboration with Brian Eno, while reading J.G. Ballard's early environmental disaster novels (The Drowned World, The Crystal World) and you'll swear it was recorded for that purpose. Listen to his 1986 album Power Spot while reading just about anything by Paul Bowles (The Sheltering Sky, The Delicate Prey) and you will be convinced that Hassell was reading about expatriates living and dying in Morocco while recording it.

Best of all, Hassell keeps making music true to his original vision. If you haven't discovered his "fourth world" yet, you owe it to yourself to do so... and while you're at it pick up the works of Paul Bowles and J.G. Ballard. You may find yourself wanting the test my theories for yourself.

Food: Quiet Inlet

Food (group; formed 1998)
Quiet Inlet (ECM)
Thomas Stronen (drums, electronics)
Ian Balllamy (sax)

Nils Petter Molvaer (trumpet; electronics)
Christian Fennesz (guitar, electronics)

Originally formed as a quartet including Arve Henriksen (trumpet) and Mats Eilertsen (bass), Food is now a duo with various guest musicians. Stronen and Ballamy have been consistent soundshapers on the thriving Norwegian jazz scene for over 20 years now. Food has always been a core project for them. Their recent release (6th in all), Quiet Inlet (ECM) continues the group philosophy of creating new worlds from improvising sounds.

Mostly the pieces on Quiet Inlet were recorded live at European Festivals but you would never notice as most the audience noise has been taken out. With the addition of Molvaer and Fennesz, Food have full immersed themselves in an experimental and sometimes electronic noise environment. That's not a bad thing. The essence of Food is always here. The acoustic aspect of their work may sometimes step into the background but you know its there.

The music on Quiet Inlet in melodic, improvised and ethereal while all follow a specific rhythmic pattern. Stronen's unique and technically brilliant style on drums/percussion are high points throughout Quiet Inlet, especially on the tracks "Tobiko" and "Mictyris". Heniksen's other-worldly trumpet style shines with a gentle beauty on latter pieces ""Becalmed" and "Dweller". Fennesz, who has quickly emerged as a major force in the ambience/improvising circles shows why he is one most creative noise guitarist around at the moment on the closing number "Fathoms" as well as his work on "Mictyris".

Quiet Inlet is no real departure for Food but is probably the more accessible (using the term loosely) of their albums. There are moments of improvised ambience as well gritty electronic grooves. Both of which are highly satisfying to this listener. Hope you get a chance to enjoy as well.