Saxophonist and composer Branford Marsalis is headlining a four-night, mostly-sold-out stand this week at Yoshi's in Oakland's Jack London Square. (Tickets for the 10 p.m. shows tonight, Tuesday and Thursday may still be available at yoshis.com.) The Grammy-winning eldest son of the musical Marsalis family's quartet is touring in support of the haunting, lyrical "Braggtown."
SFist recently sat down with Marsalis for our first-ever email interview.
Q. First off, did you have anything to do with the fact that the top view of the "Braggtgown" CD looks like an old 45 rpm record? If so, where did the idea
come from? (I like it.)
A. Our art director, Arnold Levine, did that. It is in all of our recordings, not just "Braggtown."
Q. A common backstory for many musicians is that their parents had had high hopes for them to become a doctor/scientist/lawyer/anything-but-a-musician, but they were drawn to music and pursued their passion, in spite of their parents' wishes.
A. My father is a musician, so that thesis goes out of the window. Both of our parents stressed thought over conformity. Even if I was not a musician, my choices
would be based on the intellectual challenge the profession poses.
Q. Many of the songs on "Braggtown" -- even the relatively uptempto "Blakzilla" -- feel somewhat melancholy. Was that by design or just a coincidence
of the selection?
A. Melancholy is my preferred emotion on my songs. It took me so long to learn how to do it, that I'm going to get as much out of it as I can. My relationship
with that emotion has made me a much happier person.
By Karen S., contributing
Q. Which do you like better and why -- playing with the Grateful Dead or performing with symphonies?
A. Playing with symphonies. You can practice a piece for months and still mess it up on the performance. The same cannot be said for any other music I've tried
to play.
Q. How is the Musicians' Village going?
A. 34 houses approved, 14 built and occupied. As soon as the City builds the street they agreed to, 14 more are ready to be built immediately. And more to come.
Q. What (if anything) do you miss about your day job on "The Tonight Show"? What DON'T you miss?
A. I miss Jay, Debbie (producer), Ellen (director), mike (stage manager), and all of the other 200 people who make the show go. It was a great time for me. But
I really missed being a musician most of all. It was great to see them 2 weeks back.
Q. Any Bay Area stories you can share with our readers?
A. When I was living in LA in the early 90's, I took my kid to a Niners-Cowboys playoff game. He was in Cowboys gear from head to toe. When the Niners demolished the 'Boys, my son stood up -- with tears in his eyes -- and promised to get a big sword and chop off the heads of all the fans who were riding him (albeit quite gently) during the game. I cried laughing. He was 8 at the time. I think he's over it now.
Q. Who or what do you like to listen to these days?
A. Peter Lieberson's Neruda Songs, sung by his wife, Lorraine. Also Stephen Riley's record "In 'n Out," "Les Boreades," by Jean Philippe Rameau, and a Bessie Smith compilation.
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