Saxophonist Branford Marsalis and his quartet is paying the ultimate tribute in his newest album. In it, Marsalis and his quartet cover Keith Jarrett’s 1974 album, Belongings in its entirety.
The decision to cover this album by this artist is fascinating, since Jarrett is so regarded for his spontaneous recording style, which leaves the cover-er trying to make something clearly very studied sound tossed off. Keith Jarrett’s original recording is the very epitome of spontaneity, with producer Manfred Eicher claiming that he told the quartet that he would only record one version of each song.
On the album, Marsalis is joined by Joey Calderazzo on piano, Eric Revis on bass and Justin Faulkner on drums. This isn’t Marsalis’ first attempt at a project like this; in the early 2000s, he played the entirety of John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme.
You can hear The Branford Marsalis Quartet’s take on the title track below.
