Branford Marsalis - Eternal

Delivery Time: 7 to 15 Working Days Format: Music

Branford Marsalis knew that his quartet had achieved a new level of eloquence when two listeners told him on separate occasions that a ballad by the band had made them cry. "I had rarely heard that said about jazz before," says the acclaimed saxophonist, "and the comment made me realize that the quartet and I were achieving emotional development as musicians." The revelation led to Eternal, the September 2004 collection of original and classic ballads that realizes Branford's goal of "aiming for what Billie Holiday could do, which was to get to the emotions of each song." Eternal Features Joey Calderazzo, Eric Revis, and Jeff "Tain" Watts.
Here Branford Marsalis takes on the special challenges of the all-ballad album: to make a CD that's distinctive and that maintains interest at slower and medium tempos. He starts by avoiding the usual repertoire, instead dividing his program between seldom-heard tunes--like "Gloomy Sunday" and "Dinner for One Please, James"--and originals. Each member of the quartet--pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis, and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts--contributes a ballad. What's most striking is Marsalis's concentrated emotional focus. On tenor he reaches deep into the tradition, summoning up some of the expressive depth of Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster, while his soprano saxophone is piquant over the Latin beat of "The Ruby and the Pearl" and crystalline on Calderazzo's graceful, melancholy "Lonely Swan." Marsalis's own "Eternal" is a multi-faceted voyage sparked by Watts's inventive drumming and climaxing with a keening, swirling tenor solo of real lyric passion. --Stuart Broomer