Facts about Branford Marsalis

Occup.Musician
FromUSA
BornAugust 26, 1960
Age63 years

Summary

Branford Marsalis is a famous Musician from USA, he/she is 63 years old and still alive, born August 26, 1960.

Zodiac:
He/she is born under the zodiac virgo, who is known for Analyzing, Practical, Reflective, Observation, Thoughtful. Our collection contains 30 quotes who is written / told by Branford.

Related authors: Harry Connick, Jr. (Musician)

30 Famous quotes by Branford Marsalis

Small: One of the things that I loved about listening to Miles Davis is that Miles always had an instinct for
"One of the things that I loved about listening to Miles Davis is that Miles always had an instinct for which musicians were great for what situations. He could always pick a band, and that was the thing that separated him from everybody else"
Small: Humans are imperfect. Thats one of the reasons that classical and jazz are in trouble. Were on the ques
"Humans are imperfect. That's one of the reasons that classical and jazz are in trouble. We're on the quest for the perfect performance and every note has to be right. Man, every note is not right in life"
Small: Theres a certain kind of motion and pacing that our music has, and this just doesnt have that.
"There's a certain kind of motion and pacing that our music has, and this just doesn't have that. We just kind of rushed to the conclusion of most of the songs. I just would've preferred to done them over"
Small: The piano is the X factor. People have a tough time following the structures when theres no piano there
"The piano is the X factor. People have a tough time following the structures when there's no piano there, spelling it out. It makes it more easily understood, particularly to people who don't know as much about music"
Small: If youre going to use standards as criteria for signing musicians, you can sign thousands. If youre goi
"If you're going to use standards as criteria for signing musicians, you can sign thousands. If you're going to use some sort of conceptual interpretation that's based on the tradition of those standards, but is trying to move away from it, you're down to about 10 people or so"
Small: I gave up my base in popular culture when I left the Tonight Show
"I gave up my base in popular culture when I left the Tonight Show"
Small: My dad was a musician, it was just what he did, like another guys dad drives a meat truck. Our house wa
"My dad was a musician, it was just what he did, like another guy's dad drives a meat truck. Our house was normal. We weren't taken with the fact our dad was a musician"
Small: I think that if you keep banging at the door all you need is a little foothold, a little tiny foothold,
"I think that if you keep banging at the door all you need is a little foothold, a little tiny foothold, and then the rest will take care of itself"
Small: I like to make records sound good. Im more like a reducer than a producer. If an artist cannot produce
"I like to make records sound good. I'm more like a reducer than a producer. If an artist cannot produce themselves, what's the point?"
Small: A lot of musicians have a tough time hearing what were doing in a trio format
"A lot of musicians have a tough time hearing what we're doing in a trio format"
Small: What is jazz? It, Its almost like asking, What is French? Jazz is a musical language. Its a musical dia
"What is jazz? It, It's almost like asking, What is French? Jazz is a musical language. It's a musical dialect that actually embodies the spirit of America"
Small: We played it as long as we could play it on that CD and I think it might be 50 minutes, maybe.
"We played it as long as we could play it on that CD and I think it might be 50 minutes, maybe. What you have to do is play a couple of songs and then get off the stage because everything that trails it sounds stupid"
Small: The biggest problem with American music right now, is that kids dont listen. They come by it honestly,
"The biggest problem with American music right now, is that kids don't listen. They come by it honestly, Americans don't listen anyway. When people go to concerts, they say I'm going to see... not, I'm going to hear"
Small: Its something that jazz has gotten away from, and its unfortunate. Players arent physical anymore
"It's something that jazz has gotten away from, and it's unfortunate. Players aren't physical anymore"
Small: If you listen to a lot of the songs that are popular now, theres very little melody in there. People lo
"If you listen to a lot of the songs that are popular now, there's very little melody in there. People love the beat. But to musicians, it's melody, because we understand how elusive it is and how hard it is to hold"
Small: Coltrane came to New Orleans one day and he was talking about the jazz scene. And Coltrane mentions tha
"Coltrane came to New Orleans one day and he was talking about the jazz scene. And Coltrane mentions that the problem with jazz was that there were too few groups"
Small: Pop doesnt really look back. It cant. What makes pop work is simplicity
"Pop doesn't really look back. It can't. What makes pop work is simplicity"
Small: One of the things thats clear to me from interviews that Ive read is that the more popular successful j
"One of the things that's clear to me from interviews that I've read is that the more popular successful jazz musicians had audiences above and beyond the music community"
Small: I think that one of the problems that jazz has is that its so incestuous that its starting to kill itse
"I think that one of the problems that jazz has is that it's so incestuous that it's starting to kill itself"
Small: I suspect that we might actually start selling some records with these artists in about 10 years.
"I suspect that we might actually start selling some records with these artists in about 10 years. Some the people who invested, they're a little tight-because it's a lot of money to start up a company"
Small: When youre dealing with music without words, titles are more a means of identification than anything el
"When you're dealing with music without words, titles are more a means of identification than anything else. What's the point of getting lofty?"
Small: Theres not one Tin Pan Alley song on my record
"There's not one Tin Pan Alley song on my record"
Small: Im not going to play funk licks on a jazz album. That makes no sense
"I'm not going to play funk licks on a jazz album. That makes no sense"
Small: If its not going to sound like Terrapin Station, whats the point of playing Terrapin Station?
"If it's not going to sound like Terrapin Station, what's the point of playing Terrapin Station?"
Small: The whole point is, give me a break with the standards. You go to the average jazz label and suggest a
"The whole point is, give me a break with the standards. You go to the average jazz label and suggest a record and they want to know which standards you're going to play. I'm saying let's break the formula"
Small: The lions share of what I hear right now are people who, intentional or accidental, have avoided all ja
"The lion's share of what I hear right now are people who, intentional or accidental, have avoided all jazz prior to 1960. And all the musicians who were successful in the '60s spent their entire lives, prior to 1960, listening to all the musicians these people avoid"
Small: Thats kind of like how jazz is sometimes. Youre out there predicting the future, and no one believes yo
"That's kind of like how jazz is sometimes. You're out there predicting the future, and no one believes you"
Small: Jazz fans love Miles and I love him for a myriad of reasons, but the overviews are always too simplisti
"Jazz fans love Miles and I love him for a myriad of reasons, but the overviews are always too simplistic"
Small: Its hard to get into Newsweek because, as more of our former intellectual magazines take on a pop focus
"It's hard to get into Newsweek because, as more of our former intellectual magazines take on a pop focus, if there's no buzz, there's no interest"
Small: If I were like a lot of other people, then it wouldnt be fun but since Im like me, its okay
"If I were like a lot of other people, then it wouldn't be fun; but since I'm like me, it's okay"