Royal Garden Blues (album)

Royal Garden Blues
Studio album by
Branford Marsalis
Released1986
Studio
GenreJazz
LabelColumbia[1]
ProducerDelfeayo 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]

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[16]
Robert ChristgauB+[17]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[18]
Los Angeles Times[12]
MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide[19]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings[20]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[21]
Windsor StarA[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 Kirkland7:13
3."Strike Up the Band"George Gershwin4:19
4."Emanon"Wynton Marsalis7:23
5."Royal Garden Blues"Clarence Williams, Spencer Williams7:04
6."Shadows"Larry Willis9:29
7."The Wrath of Tain"Branford Marsalis8:57

Personnel

Production

  • George Butler – executive producer
  • Delfeayo Marsalis – producer, mixing, editing
  • Tim "Cheem" Geelan – engineer (1, 4)
  • Patrick Smith – mixing (1, 4)
  • Jim Scott – engineer (2, 3, 5–7), mixing (2, 3, 5–7)
  • Branford Marsalis – mixing (2, 3, 5–7)
  • Dennis Ferrante – assistant engineer
  • Tony Dawsey – mastering
  • Alan Moy – mastering
  • Masterdisk (New York, NY) – mastering location
  • Mark Larson – design
  • Robert Cohen – photography

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. ^ a b c Feather, Leonard (9 Nov 1986). "Jazz Album Briefs". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 55.
  13. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "Branford Marsalis Royal Garden Blues". AllMusic.
  17. ^ a b "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.