01-17-2019, 09:52 AM
Nearly 30 years ago, well, 29 to be exact, I heard Branford Marsalis sit in with the Dead on NYE. Last night was the first time I heard his legendary quartet, at Stanford's lovely Bing Concert Hall, no less. What an extraordinary show. As I've gotten older, my respect for jazz has grown. Jazz musicians are so incredibly skilled, and jazz can go anywhere musically, from sweet and soft to the most chaotic cacophony, all with razor-sharp precision. Jazz drummers are insane. I love standing base. I should really listen to more jazz, but it really only works for me live.
Branford was still amazing, so cool in that jazz sort of way, joking between songs, accusing his base player of stopping by the dispensary before the show, and blowing such a mean horn. For the final encore, a jazz professor and a stanford grad student sat in on sax, but they weren't even in the ballpark next to Branford. He has such smooth command of his instrument. Such a delightful evening.
Branford was still amazing, so cool in that jazz sort of way, joking between songs, accusing his base player of stopping by the dispensary before the show, and blowing such a mean horn. For the final encore, a jazz professor and a stanford grad student sat in on sax, but they weren't even in the ballpark next to Branford. He has such smooth command of his instrument. Such a delightful evening.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse