The thoughts of saxman Branford

Branford Marsalis: “A band has to have great followers, you can't have five great leaders” – (Down Beat December 1982).

Branford Marsalis: "...if someone is going to serve your head on a platter, you want it to be Sonny Rollins not some guy at Smalls who nobody knows." - (Down Beat July 2004.)

Branford Marsalis: "Why isn't jazz popular? Because jazz musicians today are completely devoid of character." - (The Jazz Ear - Ben Ratliffe).

Branford Marsalis: “I loved it (Mahler's 3rd Symphony) so much that I stole Wynton's record when I went away to college" - (Jazz Journal May 2013.)

Branford Marsalis: “When I knew I was going to do the [solo] concert…if it’s good we release it, if it’s shite, well I have this big pile of shite that I can listen to – to remind myself how much better I need to be.” – (Jazzwise December 2014/January 2015).

Branford Marsalis: “I learned a lot on that [1985] tour and Sting’s a wonderful person and a really incredibly smart guy and helluva song writer…” – (Jazzwise December 2014/January 2015).

Branford Marsalis: "Back in 1990, I used to go waltzing past the melody, treating it as something to sidestep before starting to solo in double time. " - (Jazzwise April 2019).

Branford Marsalis: "I was a Mets season ticket holder. I remember when they were in old ragged ass Shea Stadium. you could go to a professional baseball game for $25. Now, that's the price of popcorn and a Coke. So who is jazz for? Music is for everybody, but there are market realities -(DownBeat, May 2019).

Branford Marsalis: "I don't know any good music that isn't borrowed from somewhere else - (DownBeat, May 2019).

Branford Marsalis: "You talk to the old guys about it [52nd St.], and they say the music part was great. Every other aspect of it [pay, hours, conditions] sucked" - (DownBeat, May 2019).

Branford Marsalis: "I went off and played with Sting (in the '80s), a great guy and fantastic songwriter." - (JazzTimes June 2019).

Branford Marsalis: “Art [Blakey] taught  in the Socratic manner. He'd force you to think, and through thinking, you arrive at the answer ”. (DownBeat, January, 2020).

Branford Marsalis: "As ignorance often forces us to do, you make a generalisation about a musician based on one specific record or one moment in time." - (Jazzwise June 2023).