Branford Marsalis is all about experiments. Known more as a jazz saxophonist, he doesn't shy away from plunging into other musical waters. Take, for instance, his classical concerts in February with Frankfurt's Opern- und Museumsorchester. Or countless other concerts at classical venues in the US.

Marsalis' penchant for musical experimentation is also evident in his choice of recording locations, like for his quartet's latest album - out this month - entitled "Four MFs Playin' Tunes." The record blends original compositions by band members with the Thelonious Monk classic, "Teo," and a standard by Richard A. Whiting and Leo Robin dating back to the 1930s.

The new album is one of a handful created at Hayti Heritage Center in downtown Durham, North Carolina in the US. A former church turned into a not-for-profit community and art center, the simple red-brick façade on the outside does not even hint at the technological labyrinth inside when Marsalis and band set up shop. Each time, the house of worship is transformed into a maze of cables, microphones, computers and LCD screens for another round of recordings.

No dress rehearsals

"The church has a terrific sound. It's a great acoustic room," said Marsalis, who's been living in Durham for years now. There are no buzzing, booming or muffled sounds when recording loud and quiet passages of music played by the world-famous saxophonist, pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Justin Faulkner.

The unique sound of the space can be heard in every note, and sets the recordings apart from other perfectly designed, standard studio productions. "We don't rehearse," said Marsalis, "because jazz is a very special music with its own language. Once you understand that, then it's up to you to rehearse on your own."

That's also why Marsalis and his band didn't rehearse together before recording the songs of the new album. Rehearsals would lead to a different sound, says the multiple Grammy and Echo awards winner. "The solos would have ended up sounding prepared," Marsalis is convinced. "So I try to minimize that; we try to work on stage and let it happen the way we do when we give live performances."

A virtuoso jazz star

Friendly, eloquent and self-confident: That's the way people know Branford Marsalis. Often dressed in a sharp black suit for performances, the 51-year-old has developed a relaxed grace over the years. He's calm and easy-going when he speaks. Long a prominent star on the American jazz scene, who has played with Art Blakey and Miles Davis, he's become an established tenor and soprano saxophonist whose casually elegant art of playing can be heard in the very first note.

"As a musician, you have to be prepared to go on stage and make a lot of mistakes," he said. "That's how you learn to really make music. You have to be very self-critical. When I'm on stage, I'm always trying to figure out what we're doing wrong and how we can fix it."

Music without borders

Marsalis has always been a kind of musical globetrotter - as pop musician and band accompaniment with Sting, as film music composer for director Spike Lee, or as leader of Jay Leno's "Tonight Show" Band.

Former bandleader of the Buckshot LeFonque project that fused classical jazz with pop, rock, R&B, and hip-hop, he's also interpreted everything from classical French composers of the 19th and 20th centuries to Beethoven.

During his two February concerts with Frankfurt's Opern- und Museumsorchester in the city's opera house, he moved from Debussy's "Rhapsody for Saxophone and Orchestra" to a premiere of the "Concerto for one player with two Saxophones," written for him by Berlin composer Peter Aderhold, to Ludwig von Beethoven's "Eroica" symphony, to a swinging "Mack the Knife" encore.

But he's come back full circle in recent years to jazz, preferring now to forego the multitude of sound possibilities today's studio technology offers. That's why he likes recording in the Hayti Heritage Center.

"I prefer it when we try to listen to each other and create our own sound, rather than knowing from the start how it's going to be," he said. "Music is something magical that happens in the here and now."

Marsalis is at his best with ballads that sound like classical music. He and the rest of his quartet do not have to utter a word - they communicate with mere glances to one another, and often those are not even necessary. With the exception of drummer Faulkner, the quartet's been playing together for over a decade. It's not a CD, but playing together live that's the most important thing, Marsalis says.

Classical music for kids

Marsalis smiles and his face lights up when asked about what jazz is and what classical music means to him. He says his children have been listening to classical music since they were born.

"Most parents make the mistake of only playing the music they themselves like for their children and they have very limited tastes," he said. "If parents want to raise their kids only listening to the Rolling Stones or the Beatles, then you can't stop them."

Marsalis is in his element when he talks about introducing and teaching music to his kids. Last year, his eldest daughter wanted to listen to Mahler's "Song of the Earth" and before that, Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker." She listened to them again and again, he says, with a mixture of surprise and fatherly pride in his voice.

But of course his kids listen to pop music, too, like Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga. There's an essential difference between that and Mozart's "Eine kleine Nachtmusik," he said. The latter "allows kids to develop their imagination. The music lets them create their own narrative."

Pop song lyrics, on the other hand, provide the story, he says. "They condition you to believe what other people are telling you in their songs. My kids have a huge advantage because they listen to music differently than their friends do."

Author: Michael Marek / als
Editor: Kate Bowen