Two shows in one night - Both shows sold separately
Both shows will have 75 minute performances
Seated listening room style show - General admission - All ages
The Alluvion Jazz Series presents saxophonist Branford Marsalis, one of the foremost jazz artists of our time and a pace-setting creative force in the music for more than four decades.
Branford is taking to the Alluvion stage, after the recent release of: Belonging a full album interpretation of Keith Jarrett’s 1974 album of the same name. Belonging was released on Blue Note Records on March 28th, 2025, with Branford’s acclaimed longstanding quartet featuring pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis, and drummer Justin Faulkner. The Alluvion is honored to host this outstanding, high-caliber band in celebration of the record.
Doors open at 6:30 - Music at 7 - $30 advance tickets - $35 at the door
Doors open at 8:30 - Music at 9 - $30 advance tickets - $35 at the door
BELONGING
Saxophonist Branford Marsalis, one of the foremost jazz artists of our time and a pacesetting creative force in the music for more than four decades, is set to make his Blue Note Records debut with the March 28 release of Belonging, a full album interpretation of Keith Jarrett’s 1974 ECM album of the same name which introduced the pianist’s European Quartet. Belonging is Marsalis’ first new release since 2019 with his acclaimed longstanding quartet featuring pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis, and drummer Justin Faulkner. The lead track “Spiral Dance” is available to stream or download.
Marsalis admits that he was into other music when Belonging was released in 1974. “I was a freshman in high school, listening to R&B,” he recalls. “I didn’t know Belonging existed.” That changed once he shifted his focus to jazz, although he was only familiar with Jarrett’s solo piano music until pianist Kenny Kirkland introduced him to Jarrett’s European Quartet with saxophonist Jan Garbarek, bassist Palle Danielsson, and drummer Jon Christensen. “We were sitting on a plane sometime in the eighties and Kenny put his headphones on my ears and played [Jarrett’s 1979 album] My Song. When he tried to take the headphones back after five minutes I slapped his hand away; and when we got to the next city, I went out and bought every recording by that band.”
The quartet applied Marsalis’ previous approach to classics by Charles Mingus, the Modern Jazz Quartet, John Coltrane, and others – neither slavish fealty to the originals nor extreme deconstructions. “On the composition ‘Belonging,’ I clearly played things that Jan played on the record,” Marsalis points out. “I didn’t try to reject the idea when it occurred, but at no point did we plan to consciously pay tribute. I’m always listening to the whole record, not just the saxophone solos, and the most impressive thing about Belonging for me is how it all fits together.”
Marsalis notes that “The whole purpose of this group is to be more like a chamber group than a jazz group,” and in the process he has taken listeners along without compromising his approach. “All that any audience for any music wants is a great melody and a great accompanying beat” he explains. “It doesn’t really matter where our journey goes, as long as we keep the dance going.”
BRANFORD MARSALIS
New Orleans-born Branford Marsalis is an award-winning saxophonist, band leader, featured classical soloist, and a film and Broadway composer. In the process, he has become a multi award-winning artist with three Grammys, a citation by the National Endowment for the Arts as a Jazz Master and an avatar of contemporary artistic excellence.
The Branford Marsalis Quartet, formed in 1986, remains his primary means of expression. In its virtually uninterrupted three-plus decades of existence, the Quartet has established a rare breadth of stylistic range and has long been recognized as the standard to which other ensembles of its kind must be measured. The Quartet recently made its Blue Note Records debut with the release of Belonging, a full album interpretation of Keith Jarrett's 1974 ECM album of the same name. But Branford has not confined his music to the jazz quartet context. He recently composed a classical suite commissioned by the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. A frequent soloist with classical ensembles, Branford has become increasingly sought after as a featured soloist with acclaimed orchestras around the world, including the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, and the Chicago, Detroit, North Carolina, and Düsseldorf Symphonies. And his legendary guest performances with the Grateful Dead and collaborations with Sting have made him a fan favorite in the pop arena.
Branford’s screen credits as a composer include original music for: Rustin starring Colman Domingo, the History Channel’s documentary Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom starring Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks starring Oprah Winfrey, and Spike Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues. He received a 2021 EMMY nomination for the original music he composed and produced for Tulsa Burning in the Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special (Original Dramatic Score) category. His work on Broadway has garnered a Drama Desk Award and a Tony nomination for the acclaimed revival of Fences. He recently arranged and orchestrated the music for a new Broadway production on Louis Armstrong, A Wonderful World. His previous Broadway efforts include music for the revivals of Children of a Lesser God and A Raisin in the Sun, as well as The Mountaintop, which starred Angela Basset and Samuel L. Jackson.
JOEY CALDERAZZO
One of the finest pianists of his generation, having recorded thirteen albums as a leader, Joey Calderazzo has traveled the road from child prodigy to in-demand session musician to elite member of the finest ensembles in jazz. He's accompanied the music's geniuses, from Michael Brecker and Branford Marsalis to Jack DeJohnette and Dave Holland. Throughout his journey, Calderazzo has boldly explored his own psyche and his place in the world, as a composer, improvisor, band member, and leader.
Calderazzo's long running trio, which recently recorded Live From The Cotton Club Tokyo, Volume I, is his place of relaxation and exploration, where improvisation is key, freedom is the norm, and swing is absolute. Joined by bassist Orlando Le Fleming and drummer Donald Edwards, Calderazzo examines original material and choice cover renditions in a live performance inspired by his prodigiously broad approach to jazz.
With experience comes knowledge, with patience, wisdom. Calderazzo embodies swinging blues and post-bop, traditional jazz and boundary-exploring improvisation.
ERIC REVIS
One of the most talented and accomplished musicians of his generation, Grammy Award-winning bassist and composer Eric Revis has firmly established himself as an important voice in jazz.
Branford Marsalis states, “Eric’s sound is the sound of doom; big, thick, percussive.” Scores of musicians across various disciplines agree. Revis has performed and recorded with Betty Carter, Peter Brötzmann, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Jason Moran, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Steve Coleman, Ralph Peterson, Lionel Hampton, McCoy Tyner, Andrew Cyrille, and Tarbaby, the experimental trio he tri-leads with Orrin Evans and Nasheet Waits, as well as with Options, also with Waits, and the legendary Bennie Maupin.
Revis has recorded eight brilliant albums as a leader including 2004’s Tales of the Stuttering Mime and 2009’s Laughter’s Necklace of Tears both of which reveal his impressive range as a musician and composer and were followed by five back-to-back releases on the Lisbon-based label Clean Feed.
JUSTIN FAULKNER
Philadelphia native, drummer, educator, and philanthropist Justin Faulkner has cultivated a sound that invites, entertains, informs, and heals.
Throughout his career, Faulkner has shared the stage with musical luminaries like Kenny Barron, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Peter Nero, Jimmy Heath, Orrin Evans, Ornette Coleman, Sean Jones, Tim Warfield, Bernard Purdie, Pharoah Saunders, Terence Blanchard, Mingus Big Band/Dynasty/Orchestra, Bootsie Barnes, Jacky Terrasson, Terrence Howard, Bilal, Christian McBride and continues to be the drummer of choice for numerous others.
Faulkner is grateful for every opportunity he has to share his gift of music with the world. As a conscientious student of music, Justin asserts that prayer, spiritual reflection, and focused practice are the centers of his life's progress.
He aims to achieve selflessness in his approach as he recognizes it is not about him; it's about the music. "God gives us gifts and talents. Nurturing and developing those talents are the accompanying responsibilities. But, then, the magic starts when it's time to curate a collection of narratives that inform, inspire, and leave the listener wanting more."
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