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 as demonstrated on the bands latest release The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul. But Branford has not confined his music to the jazz quartet context. A frequent soloist with classical ensembles, Branford has become increasingly sought after as a featured soloist with acclaimed orchestras around the world, performing works by composers such as Copeland, Debussy, Glazunov, Ibert, Mahler, Milhaud, Rorem, Vaughan Williams and Villa Lobo.