Great Live Moments - Branford Marsalis

June 30, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: ballad, bassist, branford marsalis, burnout, chicago jazz festival, drummer jeff, Great Live Moments, jazz quartet, jeff tain watts, kenny kirkland, Listening Post, pianist, revis, square park, tain, washington square, washington square park, wbgo

In 1998, Branford Marsalis was the host of JazzSet. He was also the leader of an amazing jazz quartet. In August of that year, they played a concert at Washington Square Park in New York. WBGO was there to capture the performance.
I remember seeing this band at the Chicago Jazz Festival, just a few weeks after this recording. Branford, along with bassist Eric Revis, drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts, and the late pianist Kenny Kirkland had the unique ability to pin you to your seat for more than an hour. The music was relentless, whether it was some burnout tune or a ballad. Kenny Kirkland's "Mr. J.C." is a great example of the former. Enjoy the blistering solos from Kenny and Branford. Click here to listen.
-Josh

© 2008 WBGO

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J-Lo is 55!

December 29, 2007. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: banner year, Birthdays, christian mcbride, class act, drummer jeff, favorite places, jazz standard, jeff tain watts, joe lovano, kenny barron, mccoy tyner quartet, montefalco, nation hope, orvieto italy, palazzo del popolo, Riff, sagrantino, toast of the nation, trio da paz, umbria region, Video, www youtube, york crew

Joe Lovano, that is.

It's Lovano's 55th birthday today, and he's celebrating it with a three-day run with his quintet at the Palazzo del Popolo in Orvieto, Italy. What a way to end a monumental year. Wish I could be there, since Italy's Umbria region is one of my favorite places to be, but I'll be spending my New Year's Eve at Jazz Standard, with Trio da Paz, Kenny Barron, and a great New York crew for NPR's Toast of the Nation (hope you'll be listening!).

Incidentally, Toast of the Nation is where Lovano's 2007 began, as a member of the McCoy Tyner Quartet (bassist Christian McBride and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts make four) at Yoshi's. You can hear the fruits of that week at Yoshi's on record.

It's been such a banner year for Joe. Check out the video below. And when you see him again, raise a glass of my favorite Umbrian wine, Paolo Bea's Sagrantino de Montefalco, in honor of him.

Happy birthday, Joe Lovano. You're a class act.

© 2007 WBGO

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