Royal Garden Blues (album)

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Royal Garden Blues
Royal Garden Blues (album).jpg
Studio album by
Branford Marsalis
Released1986
Studio
Genre Jazz
Label Columbia [1]
Producer Delfeayo Marsalis
Branford Marsalis chronology
Romances for Saxophone
(1986)		Royal Garden Blues
(1986)		 Renaissance
(1987)

Royal Garden Blues is an album by the American saxophonist Branford Marsalis, released in 1986. [2] [3] Marsalis promoted it with a North American tour. [4]

Contents

The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist". [5] It peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's Traditional Jazz Albums chart. [6]

Production

Royal Garden Blues was produced by Delfeayo Marsalis. [7] Ron Carter and Herbie Hancock contributed to the album. [8]

The title track is a cover of the jazz standard. [9] Its video was directed by Spike Lee. [10] "Strike Up the Band" is a version of the song composed by George Gershwin. [11] "Emanon" was written by Wynton Marsalis. [12] "Shadows was written by Larry Willis. [13] Ellis Marsalis Jr. played piano on "Swingin' at the Haven", which he also wrote. [14] "The Wrath of Tain", a tribute to drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts, was written by Branford. [15]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [16]
Robert Christgau B+ [17]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [18]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]
MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [19]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [20]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [21]
Windsor Star A [13]

Robert Christgau labeled Marsalis the "more fun" member of the family, but determined that "his artistic personality is still unformed." [17] The Los Angeles Times noted that "despite having been bitten by the rhythm-and-blues bug and stung by Sting, the saxophonist-leader leaves no doubt that jazz is his home turf." [12] The Sun-Sentinel stated that the music "is played very conservatively, without any hint of modern musical forms, instrumentation or rhythms." [22]

The Chicago Tribune concluded: "Formerly inclined to summon up as much heat as possible, Marsalis seems to have realized that he is not a passionate, ecstatic player but a coolheaded, technically agile craftsman." [23] The New York Times wrote that the album is "steeped in the songful, harmonically complex style of the mid-1960's Miles Davis quintet and of the Blue Note Records stable." [24] The Sunday Times considered the title track "a serious, unflinching improvisation." [25]

AllMusic deemed Royal Garden Blues "one of Branford's more playful albums." [16]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Swingin' at the Haven" Ellis Marsalis Jr. 6:11
2."Dienda" Kenny Kirkland 7:13
3."Strike Up the Band" George Gershwin 4:19
4."Emanon" Wynton Marsalis 7:23
5."Royal Garden Blues" Clarence Williams, Spencer Williams 7:04
6."Shadows" Larry Willis 9:29
7."The Wrath of Tain"Branford Marsalis8:57

Personnel

Production

References

  1. ↑ Lichtenstein, Grace; Dankner, Laura (September 9, 1993). Musical Gumbo: The Music of New Orleans. W.W. Norton. ISBN   978-0-393-03468-4.
  2. ↑ "Branford Marsalis Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ↑ Riley, Norman (Nov 1986). "The Young Lions". The Crisis. Vol. 93, no. 9. p. 9.
  4. ↑ MacInnis, Craig (6 Feb 1987). "Bored-again Branford back to jazz". Toronto Star. p. D19.
  5. ↑ "Branford Marsalis". Recording Academy. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  6. ↑ "Branford Marsalis". Billboard.
  7. ↑ Santosuosso, Ernie (5 Dec 1986). "Another Tenor Saxophonist to Star in Film". Arts and Film. The Boston Globe. p. 46.
  8. ↑ McKenzie, Madora (5 Nov 1986). "Soundtakes". Arts. The Christian Science Monitor.
  9. ↑ Gioia, Ted (September 9, 2012). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-976915-5.
  10. ↑ Magro, Anthony (September 9, 2002). Contemporary Cat: Terence Blanchard with Special Guests. Scarecrow Press. ISBN   978-0-8108-4323-3.
  11. ↑ Miller, Mark (6 Nov 1986). "Royal Garden Blues Branford Marsalis". The Globe and Mail. p. D3.
  12. 1 2 3 Feather, Leonard (9 Nov 1986). "Jazz Album Briefs". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 55.
  13. 1 2 Stevens, Peter (24 Jan 1987). "Jazz". Windsor Star. p. C2.
  14. ↑ Moody, Lois (24 Apr 1987). "Branford Marsalis Royal Garden Blues". Ottawa Citizen. p. F5.
  15. ↑ Tranfa, Anthony D. (November 7, 1986). "'Royal Garden Blues', Branford Marsalis". Daily Breeze. p. E10.
  16. 1 2 "Branford Marsalis Royal Garden Blues". AllMusic.
  17. 1 2 "Branford Marsalis". Robert Christgau.
  18. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MUZE. p. 517.
  19. ↑ MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 745.
  20. ↑ The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (8th ed.). Penguin Books Ltd. 2006. p. 851.
  21. ↑ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 450.
  22. ↑ Wissink, Stephen (8 Feb 1987). "Older Marsalis Falls Short". Sun-Sentinel. p. 3G.
  23. ↑ Kart, Larry (14 Dec 1986). "Royal Garden Blues". Arts. Chicago Tribune. p. 24.
  24. ↑ Pareles, Jon (17 Dec 1986). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. p. C29.
  25. ↑ Cook, Richard (November 9, 1986). "Swaggering saxophonist". Arts. The Sunday Times.
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