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Branford Marsalis Quartet

  • Main Stage
    Friday 14•July•2023
    22:00•23:30

    TICKETS FROM 44 EUROS

Mulit-day pass for Branford Marsalis Quartet (14.07) and Herbie Hancock (15.07)
Click here for info on a multi-day pass for the days of Branford Marsalis Quartet (14.07) and Herbie Hancock (15.07).

Branford Marsalis was a young and ambitious saxophone player at the renowned Berklee College of Music back at the time when artists such as Art Blakey, Herbie Hancock, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis had their hey day. Along with his brother - trumpeter Wynton Marsalis - Marsalis ended up playing in their quartets, quintets and big bands. With names like these on your resume when you are only just getting started, it is hardly surprising that, as your career moves on, you get to play with the likes of Sting, Stevie Wonder, Carole King and… the Grateful Dead. In the 1990s, Jay Leno invited Marsalis to come and join him as the band leader on The Tonight Show Band. During that same decade, Marsalis set up Buckshot LeFonque, a band that (successfully!) combined jazz, rock and hip hop. In due course, he even turned his hand to composing film scores. Let there be no doubt, Branford Marsalis was partial to musical adventures and this did not include sitting down idly twiddling his thumbs.

For all his different projects, there has been one constant in his career since 1986: the Branford Marsalis Quartet. From the outset, the quartet has been exploring the full scope of what jazz has to offer in uncompromising and bold fashion. Rooted in tradition without turning a blind eye to other influences and developments, the band members pool their shared artistry in order to explore the musical universe in consistently greater depth. The musical symbiosis that has developed between Marsalis, pianist Joey Calderazzo and bassist Eric Revis over the past twenty years, was given a breath of fresh air in 2009 with the arrival of drummer Justin Faulkner. The quarter is living proof that loyalty to one another and in-depth musical exploration based on like-mindedness can lead to unprecedented heights.