Label: Blue Note Records, 2025

Personnel - Branford Marsalis: tenor and soprano saxophone; Joey Calderazzo: piano; Eric Revis: bass; Justin Faulkner: drums.

It’s arguable whether an essential record like Belonging (ECM, 1974) by the late, great pianist Keith Jarrett truly needs a full reinterpretation, but saxophonist Branford Marsalis takes on the challenge without straying far from the original themes and feel. If anyone is equipped to explore Jarrett’s legacy, it’s certainly Marsalis, joined here by his stellar working quartet—pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis, and drummer Justin Faulkner.

A strong sense of empathy permeates the ensemble, and they deliver a dazzlingly kinetic take on “Spiral Dance”, highlighted by exceptional solos from Calderazzo, flawless in both intonation and phrasing, Marsalis, who thrives in motifs and chromatic shifts, and Revis, who sings out melodies with breathtaking beauty. “Long As You Know You’re Living Yours” feels like a jazz-folk-infused pop song, enriched with bluesy elegance. The piece receives special treatment here, building into an intense crescendo fueled by Marsalis’ fiery saxophone lines, which flow with remarkable fluidity. Calderazzo, too, impresses, navigating harmonic turns with nuanced detail.

Another tour de force, “The Windup”, carries the lively spirit of a country-folk parade, tinged with playful burlesque and manic intensity. Marsalis is at his most animated, his vigorous playing recalling the soulful explosions of Kenny Garrett. The rubato ballads “Blossom”, “Belonging”, and “Solstice” round out the program, painting sonic landscapes of longing and serenity.

This sharply focused quartet brings ample vision and improvisatory flair to every track, making for a bold yet rewarding venture. In a record that carries undeniable risk, Marsalis and his band ultimately pull off a gutsy triumph. He dedicates the album to the memories of recently departed jazz luminaries Benny Golson, Lou Donaldson, Roy Haynes, and Russell Malone.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Spiral Dance ► 03 - Long As You Know You’re Living Yours ► 05 - The Windup

BRANFORD MARSALIS QUARTET - THE SECRET BETWEEN THE SHADOW AND THE SOUL (OKeh Records, 2019)

Personnel - Branford Marsalis: saxophone; Joey Calderazzo: piano; Eric Revis: double bass; Justin Faulkner: drums.

Saxophonist Branford Marsalis is back with The Secret Between The Shadow And The Soul, another quartet effort with regular collaborators. Cultivating their post-bop artistry with passion, the group starts big, energizing aplomb through the mercurial intensity of “Dance Of The Evil Toys”, an Eric Revis-penned burner where the bandleader navigates the chords with breakneck phrases filled with off-kilter intervals and fierce hooks. The bassist contributes another piece, “Nilaste”, more prone to ambiguity and open form, while pianist Joey Calderazzo wrote “Cianna”, a bolero infusion with resplendent melody, and a gently brushed ballad called “Conversation Among The Ruins”. Also with balladic tones, there’s Marsalis’ “Life Filtering From The Water Flowers”, a piece dedicated to his late mother, but the peak moments arrive with outstanding covers of hip tunes from the 70’s: Andrew Hill’s “Snake Hip Waltz”, which spotlights Calderazzo in a swinging solo that pulls Charlie Parker in, and Keith Jarrett’s “The Windup”, professed with stirring solos at a burning tempo. [A]

TERRI LYNE CARRINGTON & SOCIAL SCIENCE - WAITING GAME (Motéma, 2019)

Personnel includes - Terri Lyne Carrington: drums; Debo Ray: vocals; Rapsody: vocals; Kassa Overall: turntables, vocals; Kokayi: vocals; Meshell Ndegeocello: vocals; Nicholas Payton: trumpet; Morgan Guerin: bass, saxophone; Aaron Parks: piano, keyboards; Matthew Stevens: guitar; Derrick Hodge: bass; Esperanza Spalding: bass; and more.

Grammy-winning drummer and bandleader, Terri Lyne Carrington, has in the double-album Waiting Game a fresh new chapter in her endeavor to fight the injustices of the world. She leads an ensemble of protest called Social Science, whose music harnesses elements of jazz, hip-hop, R&B, funk, rock, and contemporary classical. The groove-laden disc one is crammed with pertinent spoken word and vocal moments, and features a number of guests. Two of the highlights, “Trapped In the American Dream” and “The Anthem” were co-penned by pianist Aaron Parks, who joined forces with MC Kassa Overall on the former tune and the rapper Rapsody on the latter. Guitarist Matthew Stevens showcases his smoky guitar chops throughout, while singer Debo Ray gives an R&B touch to Joni Mitchell’s “Love” and the balladic title track. You can also hear Nicholas Payton’s trumpet dialoguing and soaring over the African-tinged pulse of “Pray the Gay Away”. Disc two is a completely different story, where the bandleader dives into an exploratory four-movement suite titled “Dreams and Desperate Measures” with chamber-esque avant-garde moves and fascinating funk-rock momentum. Bassist Esperanza Spalding and string orchestrator Edmar Colon are the suite’s guests, contributing to a record that blends musical styles and social message into an exciting package. [B+]

HIROMI - SPECTRUM (Telarc Records, 2019)

Personnel - Hiromi Uehara: piano.

Undoubtedly talented, the Japanese pianist Hiromi Uehara expertly blends classical and jazz elements into her fascinating solo playing, a practice that frees her up to fly whimsically on Spectrum, her 11th studio album. All the virtuosic glow comes from a sort of dancing duel between her left and right hand, which serves to create oneiric moments (“Whiteout”) as well as forceful rhythmic thrusts (like on the blues-meets-rock’n’roll “Yellow Wurlitzer Blues”, and “Mr. C.C”, a retro ride into Charlie Chaplin’s universe). In addition to seven original compositions (highlights are “Kaleidoscope”, where vivacious rhythmic fluxes help defining dazzling variations, and the title track, with all its busy roundabouts), she reimagines a classic from The Beatles (“Blackbird”) and delivers a 22-minute Gershwin medley (“Rhapsody in Various Shades of Blue”) containing a large number of other identifiable musical suggestions. Brimming with free-roaming imagination, Spectrum is a vehicle for Hiromi’s numerable ideas and hybridism. [A-]