The Steep Anthology

The oldest of the four musical Marsalis brothers, Branford Marsalis has had an impressive career. After studying at Southern University and Berklee, Branford toured Europe with the Art Blakey big band in the summer of 1980 (playing baritone), played three months with Clark Terry, and then spent five months playing alto with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (1981). He mostly played tenor and soprano while with Wynton Marsalis' influential group (1982-1985), at first sounding most influenced by Wayne Shorter but leaning more toward John Coltrane at the end. The musical telepathy between the two brothers (who helped to revive the sound of the mid-'60s Miles Davis Quintet) was sometimes astounding. Branford toured with Herbie Hancock's V.S.O.P. II. in 1983 and recorded with Miles Davis (1984's Decoy). In 1985, when he left Wynton to join Sting's pop/rock group, it caused a major (if temporary) rift with his brother that made headlines. Marsalis enjoyed playing with Sting but did not let the association cause him to forget his musical priorities. By 1986, he was leading his own group which eventually consisted of pianist Kenny Kirkland, bassist Bob Hurst, and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts; sometimes the band was a piano-less trio that really allowed Marsalis to stretch out. After a couple of film appearances (in School Daze and Throw Mama From the Train), Branford Marsalis became even more of a celebrity when he joined Jay Leno's Tonight Show as the musical director in 1992. However, being cast in the role of Leno's sidekick rubbed against Marsalis' temperament and after two years he had had enough. Branford Marsalis, who attempted to mix together hip-hop and jazz in his erratic Buckshot LeFonque project, has recorded steadily for Columbia ever since 1983 (including a classical set).

The Steep Anthology collects various tracks from some of saxophonist Branford Marsalis' best Columbia albums. Beginning with his first session as a leader on 1983's Scenes in the City through to 1999's Requiem — his second to last album for the label — the eldest of the Marsalis brothers carved a singular path through the jazz world. Inspired by such innovative luminaries as John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, and Wayne Shorter, Marsalis always displayed a deep understanding of his jazz roots while also looking to put his own unique stamp on the music. Never as buttoned-up as his trumpet-playing brother, the saxophonist made recordings that often seemed brilliantly haphazard, allowing for humorous and idiosyncratic forays into gutbucket blues and torrents of avant-garde skronk. His almost psychic connection with his bandmates, including the late pianist Kenny Kirkland, drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts, and bassist Robert Hurst, made for exciting and sometimes irreverent music that often gave the impression of eavesdropping on a conversation ripe with inside jokes. Most of the tracks here are original compositions by Marsalis, and many showcase his early "burnout" aesthetic of pushing his solos to the furthest limit he could. Others, such as "Royal Garden Blues" and "Sidney in da Haus," find the versatile New Orleans native rejoicing in his hometown second-line traditions with a bluesy, modernist edge. Marsalis left Columbia in 2002 to start his own independent music label; The Steep Anthology is a fitting tribute to the development of one of the most influential and individualistic jazz musicians of his generation.

— Matt Collar