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, as on 1985's Black Codes (From the Underground). He also
toured with Herbie Hancock's V.S.O.P. II. in 1983 and recorded with
Miles Davis (1984's Decoy)...
