Branford Marsalis Quartet

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Zach Smith

The four members of the Branford Marsalis Quartet.

Branford Marsalis Quartet

There’s versatility, and then there’s Branford Marsalis — a saxophonist equally at home with symphony orchestras, Broadway scores, and spontaneous jams with the Grateful Dead. But at the center of his wide-reaching musical world is the Branford Marsalis Quartet, a group revered for its cohesion, daring and emotional depth. With decades of evolution behind them, the Quartet continues to explore new territory, moving effortlessly between restless complexity and melodic clarity. This is jazz that listens as much as it speaks — sharp, searching, and always alive.

media release: This event is part of the annual Jazz Series.

Known for an impressive ability to cross stylistic boundaries, instrumentalist, Broadway composer, bandleader, and educator Branford Marsalis continues to thrill audiences with his unwavering creative integrity. The NEA Jazz Master, GRAMMY Award winner and Tony Award nominee is equally at home performing concertos with symphony orchestras and sitting in with members of the Grateful Dead. Still, the core of his musical universe remains the Branford Marsalis Quartet. Formed in 1986, the Quartet has celebrated three virtually uninterrupted decades of existence and is revered for its uncompromising interpretation of a kaleidoscopic range of both original compositions and jazz and popular classics. After the GRAMMY‐nominated Upward Spiral, on which guest vocalist Kurt Elling was seamlessly integrated into the group, the Quartet followed up with the GRAMMY‐nominated The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul, its most emotionally wide‐ranging and melody-driven collection to date.