WIN - Jazz FM's Album of the Week

Branford Marsalis and Dianne Reeves pay tribute to John Coltrane in celebration of the jazz legend’s centennial with "Dedicated to You", a stunning album that features the acclaimed saxophonist and his quartet of pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Justin Faulkner performing with the great vocalist. Together they offer stunning new renditions of the six standards that appeared on the 1963 Impulse album John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, as well as additional instrumental performances of compositions from Coltrane’s canon, to create an exquisite homage.

“John Coltrane, in his genius, developed a parallel sonic and intellectual understanding of ecumenical, 40s swing, and early R&B and post-bop, to create a sound that, while intellectually challenging, is emotionally stimulating,” says Marsalis. “His embodiment of all these sides of music is what any musician – of any style – should strive to achieve. It was our privilege to honour his contributions to jazz. We hope to have done justice to his ideals.”

When Marsalis’ longstanding quartet with Calderazzo, Revis and Faulkner met Reeves for the recording of Dedicated To You, the musical fit was seamless. “This was more of an integrated band thing, where the arrangements happened in the studio,” Marsalis explains. “The original album used a consistent form – piano intro, double time after the vocal, arpeggios at the end. We didn’t want to put the tunes in a box. We played each one together, then decided what had to be added or taken away.”

Reeves embraced the challenge. “Listening to all the great singers coming up, I learned that they stood in the band, not in front of the band. They saw themselves as co-creators of the sound. The members of Branford’s quartet and I all speak the same language, and we all came up with ideas.”

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