Branford Marsalis; Record Store Day; Earl Klugh at the Broadmoor
Saxophonist Branford
Marsalis is one of those rare artists to remain true to forwardthinking jazz while achieving various levels of commercial recognition.
Dating back to the early 1980s, when he and his brother, trumpeter Wynton, were billed as “young lions” and tasked with saving jazz (from what? one must ask these decades on) to his stint as a bandleader on the Jay Lenoera “Tonight Show,” Marsalis has spent much more time in the limelight than most of his contemporaries.
In recent years, he’s mostly focused on his excellent quartet, which will play at Parker’s PACE Center For The Arts on April 15. Marsalis (who is fluent on most saxophones but tends to focus on the tenor and soprano), will be supported by pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Jason Faulkner. Expect highcaliber performances from this impressive band. Tickets start at $64; find them through parkerarts.ticktforce.com. The quartet also will play the ENT Center For The Arts in Colorado Springs on April 17 and Fort Collins’ Lincoln Center on April 18.
Ben Goldberg is a multifaceted clarinetist and composer who grew up in Denver. Since then, he’s garnered numerous welldeserved reviews nationally for his ambitious work, including the epic “Orphic Machine” recording, which, he tells me, has only been performed live a handful of times. “Orphic” attaches music to texts written by the respected poet Allen Grossman, and Goldberg’s arrangements swing thoughtfully. Goldberg is bringing an allstar lineup of creative musicians — including pianist Myra Melford, trumpeter Shane Endsley and drummer Ches Smith to the King Center on the Auraria Campus April 13, for a rare performance of this work. Tickets range from $10$15; get information at msudenver.edu/music/ events/jazzcelebration.
April 21 is Record Store Day, and while the lines will likely be long at independent retailers, most collectors will be elbowing one another for rock and hiphop releases. More cerebral folk might want to hunt down these jazz titles, exclusive to RSD: a 7inch vinyl copy of John Coltrane’s biggest hit, “My Favorite Things”; a Miles Davis compilation from his later period, titled “Rubberband”; a pair of live releases from guitarist Grant Green on the highquality Resonance label; the elusive title “Nublu Orchestra Conducted By Butch Morris”; and a reissue of Sun Ra’s glorious and trippy early ’70s album, “Astro Black.” Salivate over the entire list at recordstoreday.com.
Drummer Adam Nussbaum will perform with his group at Nocturne on April 10 . ... Guitarist Earl Klugh’s annual Weekend Of Jazz takes place at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs April 1214, with high profile smooth jazz names like the Bob James Trio, Vanessa Williams and Peter White . ... Harold Mabern and Eric Alexander team up at Dazzle on April 10 . ... Selina Albright sings at the Soiled Dove Underground April 20 . ... Denver saxophonist and educator Lynn Baker pays tribute to tenor man Joe Henderson at Dazzle April 21.