''Contemporary Jazz'' is a jazz album by the Branford Marsalis Quartet, featuring

Branford Marsalis Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ens ...

, Eric Revis,

Jeff "Tain" Watts Jeff "Tain" Watts (born January 20, 1960) is an American jazz drummer who has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Betty Carter, Michael Brecker, Alice Coltrane, Ravi Coltrane, and others. Biography Watts got the nickname "Tain" ...

, and

Joey Calderazzo Joseph Dominick Calderazzo (February 27, 1965) is an American jazz pianist and brother of musician Gene Calderazzo. He played extensively in bands led by Michael Brecker and Branford Marsalis, and has also led his own bands. Early life Calderaz ...

, which was recorded on December 1–4, 1999 at Bearsville Sound Studios near

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, New York, Kingston. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The popula ...

Reception

The album received the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Individual or Group in 2000 and reached Number 12 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Top Jazz Albums chart. In his

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

review, David R. Adler calls the album "a knockout," saying the quartet "deftly xecutesa dizzying series of tempo shifts and subtle cues, all seamlessly worked into a fabric of extended, burning improvisation." Writing in ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' was an American print magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade ...

'', Willard Jenkins says that Marsalis "shows clear evidence that he's far from satisfied in his quest for excellence on his horns and with his composer's pen. Writing with an exceptional sense of rhythm in particular, Marsalis churns out an eight-chapter gem…" The BBC's ClassicalMusic.com called the album "packed with hard-driving, punchy, turn-on-a-dime quartet music, vigorously interactive and razor-sharp, yet pleasingly informal…hard-swinging, occasionally volcanic performances from a quartet at the peak of its powers."

Track listing

Personnel

* Branford Marsalis – Saxophones * Eric Revis, bass *

, drums *

, piano

References

External links

BranfordMarsalis.com
{{Authority control 2000 albums Branford Marsalis albums Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album Albums produced by Branford Marsalis