Eternal

Branford Marsalis, Branford Marsalis Quartet Featuring Tenrece Blanchard | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 14, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Marsalis Music
• ASIN: B0002NRREW
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #86,060 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest ballad albums ever recorded, September 23, 2004

By 

Jan P. Dennis "Longboard jazzer" (Monument, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eternal (Audio CD)

With Eternal, Branford Marsalis has done something I wondered if he would ever do--release a record that fully puts on display his huge, prodigal talent.

The key here, I believe, is his willingness to ditch the awkward and ungainly mannerisms that have too often sabotaged his efforts, most recently embarrassingly displayed on Romere Bearden Revealed. What we've got on Eternal is pure jazz musicality filtered through a very sultry ballad modality.

And it works splendidly.

Amazingly, Branford manages to sound equally convincing on two different horns: soprano and tenor. Look, it's hard enough to play ballads convincingly on one horn, let alone two. But Branford manages to pull it off. As is so often the case with transcendent jazz, the key is the leader's ability to evoke the elegiac (melancholic) mood without a trace of sentimentality. All the greats from Prez to Getz to Coltrane to Bobby Watson have been able to do it. To put Branford Marsalis in such company may seem a stretch, but this disc proves he's the real deal.

His work on soprano nearly jumps out. This notoriously difficult horn--difficult to keep in pitch, difficult to achieve a distinct voice, difficult to convey genuine emotion--he masters with such ease and aplomb as to practically deconstruct its reputation for contrariety. Check out his transcendent work on "The Lonely Swan," a stunningly beautiful Joey Calderazzo (piano) original. Striking the exact apposite tonal and conceptual mode, he nails this ravishing tune with such insouciance as to almost rewrite the book on soprano ballad playing.

His tone and approach on tenor bespeak a nearly unprecedented appropriation of ballad literature. Refinement without loss of virility--that's what characterizes his move on the larger horn, most abundantly parlayed on "Dinner for One Please, James," which also features off-the-charts dusky jazz pianisms from Mr. Calderazzo.

One of the things that distinguishes this set from run-of-the-mill ballad offerings is its combination of obscure standards, miraculously transformed, with surprisingly appropriate--and sometimes just drop-dead gorgeous ("Eternal," "Reika's Loss")--originals. You'd better nail it on a ballad album if you go this route. And these dudes do.

A note about the band (Branford Marsalis, soprano & tenor sax; Joey Calderazzo, piano; Eric Revis, bass; Jeff "Tain" Watts, drums): They're in some weird ur-jazz ballad zone here. Not only do they provide the exact right context for the remarkable music on display; they also communicate with a serendipity that borders on the uncanny. This musical ravishment, most fully realized on the title cut, obtains throughout the proceedings.

Listen, Branford: All is forgiven. You da man. And you proved it beyond a shadow of a doubt with this fabulous disc.

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent - Nice Warm Glow!!!, October 12, 2004

By 

A. Davis "astandavis" (Greenville, SC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Eternal (Audio CD)

A band has to be really comfortable with each other to tackle a recording filled with ballads. Branford and company are fully engaged on this magnificent and beautiful collection of songs. This band has aged well, and it shows in the way they constantly engage each other. There is some magic happening here - and the listener gets all the rewards. This recording should allow Branford to pick up some new fans. I played this CD during a reception and twelve guest wanted to take it home. I ended up writing down the vitals & passing along other recordings that they might be interested in. This would be the first Jazz purchase for most of them. Jazz needs more recordings like this. The music has a nice warm glow around it and can be both engaging and stimulating. Branford's tone on both soprano and tenor is unique & personal - yet you can still hear him exploring and searching. His personal growth as an artist continues. I am looking forward to hearing him perform this music live - where he can stretch out & really explore these rich melodies. Branford, this is Exceptional Music. I'm loving it!!!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Branford tames the Soprano in ballads and elegies, May 9, 2005

By 

rash67 (USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Eternal (Audio CD)

Quiet, Sad, gentle, meditative, modal, elegiac ballads for a number of recently passed friends including Ray Charles, Branford Marsalis has poured much of himself, his feelings into a consistantly great album of ballads. It conveys the same feeling of inner peace that "Kind of Blue" does, not that it IS KofB, but it has that quiet feel to it.

The Soprano sax is a notoriously difficult instrument to play. It cuts through all other instruments so everyone hears the artist, mistakes and all. It poses problems with intonation, can easily have a harsh metallic edge if overblown. Usually. But Branford does a triumphant job of taming this wild instrument. His soprano comes out sensuous, like a snake charmer coaxing a cobra with his pipe, or maybe the snake itself, Branford coaxes melancholy but pleasing tones out of his instrument. Branford makes it often sound almost like an oboe with perfect control.

It is consistent in tone and content throughout the album. Bradford is remembering his passed friends. The title track seems to represent something of a joyous resurrection at the end. It gathers one's attention.

Highly Recommended for repeated listenings. 4 & 1/2 stars