Branford Marsalis was born on August 26, 1960. He is an American saxophone player, composer, and bandleader. He is most famous for leading the Branford Marsalis Quartet in jazz music. He also plays as a solo performer with classical music groups and has led the band Buckshot LeFonque. From 1992 to 1995, he was the leader of The Tonight Show Band.

Early life

Marsalis was born on August 26, 1960, in New Orleans. His mother is Dolores, who was born as Ferdinand, and she is a jazz singer and a substitute teacher. His father is Ellis Louis Marsalis Jr., a pianist and a music professor. Marsalis has three brothers: Jason Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, and Delfeayo Marsalis. All of his brothers are also jazz musicians.

Career

While in high school, Marsalis played in a R&B cover band called The Creators.

Marsalis then attended Southern University, a college that was originally for Black students in Baton Rouge, where he studied with a famous jazz musician who played the clarinet, Alvin Batiste. With Batiste’s support, Marsalis later moved to Berklee College of Music in Boston. While studying there, Marsalis toured Europe, playing the alto and tenor saxophones in a large group led by drummer Art Blakey. He also performed with other big bands led by Lionel Hampton and Clark Terry. By the end of 1981, Marsalis, playing the alto saxophone, joined his brother Wynton in Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Later, he performed with Wynton, including a 1981 tour in Japan with Herbie Hancock, which led to Wynton’s first group. Marsalis then focused on playing the soprano and tenor saxophones. He worked with Wynton until 1985, a time when he also released his first recording, Scenes in the City, and performed with other artists like Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie.

In 1985, Marsalis joined Sting, the lead singer and bassist of the rock band The Police, on Sting’s first solo project, The Dream of the Blue Turtles. He played with other musicians, including Omar Hakim on drums, Darryl Jones on bass, and Kenny Kirkland on keyboards. Marsalis performed with Sting at Live Aid and was part of his team in recordings and live shows until the release of Brand New Day in 1999.

In 1986, Marsalis formed the Branford Marsalis Quartet with pianist Kenny Kirkland, drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, and bassist Robert Hurst. That year, the group released their first album, Royal Garden Blues. The same group released four more albums, with the last one, I Heard You Twice the First Time (1992), winning a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album.

In 1988, Marsalis appeared in the Spike Lee film School Daze, where he also played music for the film. He also played a short version of the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing” at the start of Lee’s film Do the Right Thing.

Between 1990 and 1994, Marsalis performed with the Grateful Dead multiple times and appeared on their 1990 live album Without a Net. He later released a full recording of a concert he played in 1990, called Wake Up to Find Out.

In 1992, Marsalis became the leader of The Tonight Show Band on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, after Jay Leno took over from Johnny Carson. At first, Marsalis refused the job but later accepted it. He brought three members of his quartet to join the band as pianist, drummer, and bassist.

In 1994, Marsalis created a group called Buckshot LeFonque, named after a nickname used by a jazz musician named Cannonball Adderley. The group mixed jazz with rock and hip-hop. That year, they released their first album, Buckshot LeFonque, which was mostly made by DJ Premier.

In 1994, Marsalis appeared on a music album called Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool, created by the Red Hot Organization to raise awareness about the AIDS epidemic in African American communities. The album was named Album of the Year by Time magazine.

In 1995, Marsalis left The Tonight Show because he was unhappy with the job. He said he did not enjoy pretending to be happy even when he did not find jokes funny. He was replaced by guitarist Kevin Eubanks. In an interview, Marsalis said, “The job of musical director I found out later was just to kiss the ass of the host, and I ain’t no ass kisser.” He later said he did not hate Jay Leno and that his comment was sarcastic.

In 1997, bassist Eric Revis joined the Branford Marsalis Quartet after Robert Hurst left. The next year, Kenny Kirkland passed away and was replaced by pianist Joey Calderazzo. The quartet continued to tour and record music. From 1997 to 2001, Marsalis worked with Columbia Records as a creative consultant and producer, including signing saxophonist David S. Ware for two albums.

In 2002, Marsalis started his own record label, Marsalis Music. The label has released music by artists like Claudia Acuña, Harry Connick Jr., Doug Wamble, and Miguel Zenón, as well as albums by members of his family.

Marsalis has also taught at colleges, including Michigan State University, San Francisco State University, and North Carolina Central University. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, he and Harry Connick Jr. helped create Musicians Village in New Orleans, with the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music as its main building.

In 2008, Marsalis and members of the Philharmonia Brasileira toured the United States, performing music by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. This event celebrated the 50th anniversary of Villa-Lobos’s death.

In 2009, Marsalis and his quartet performed with the North Carolina Symphony on an album called American Spectrum, which includes music by American composers.

In 2009, drummer Tain left the Branford Marsalis Quartet and was replaced by Justin Faulkner.

Marsalis wrote the music for the 2010 Broadway revival of the play Fences.

In 2010, Marsalis performed with the New York Philharmonic at Central Park. He played two pieces on the alto saxophone. The same performance was repeated later that year and in 2011.

In 2011, Marsalis and Joey Calderazzo released their first album together, Songs of Mirth and Melancholy, which was performed publicly at the TD Toronto Jazz Festival.

In 2012, Marsalis released Four MFs Playin’ Tunes, the first album with drummer Justin Faulkner. It was released on vinyl before Record Store Day. The album won an award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album on Apple iTunes.

In 2012, Marsalis played “

Personal life

Before moving to New Orleans in 2024 to lead the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, Marsalis lived in Durham, North Carolina, with his wife, Nicole, and their two daughters. He was raised in the Catholic religion.

Awards and honors

• The Branford Marsalis Quartet received a Grammy Award in 2001 for their album called Contemporary Jazz. He has also won two other Grammy Awards.
• In September 2006, Branford Marsalis was given an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music. During the ceremony, he performed music that showed his work throughout his career.
• Marsalis won the 2010 Drama Desk Award in the category "Outstanding Music in a Play." He was also nominated for a 2010 Tony Award in the category "Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre" for his work in the Broadway revival of August Wilson’s Fences.
• Marsalis, along with his father and brothers, received the 2011 NEA Jazz Masters Award.
• In May 2012, he was given an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• In June 2012, Marsalis and his friend Harry Connick, Jr., both from New Orleans, received the S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen. This award is given yearly by the Jefferson Awards for Public Service for their work in the Musicians’ Village of New Orleans.
• On March 26, 2013, he received the degree of Doctor of Arts Leadership, honoris causa, from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.
• In 2023, he was given an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Duke University.

Instruments and setup

• Soprano: Marsalis has used a silver Selmer Mark VI with a modified bent neck and a Yamaha YSS-82ZR, along with a Selmer D mouthpiece and Vandoren V12 Clarinet reeds 5+
• Alto: Cannonball Vintage Series (model AV/LG-L) with a Selmer Classic C mouthpiece and Vandoren #5 reeds
• Tenor: Selmer Super Balanced Action with a Fred Lebayle 8 mouthpiece and Alexander Superial size 3.5 reeds

Other appearances

• Marsalis performed with Sting and Phil Collins at the London Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium on July 13, 1985.
• He played the saxophone on the song "Fight the Power" (1989) by Public Enemy.
• Marsalis formed a band named X-Men to perform with the Grateful Dead at the Oakland Coliseum Arena on December 31, 1990. Other members of the band were Kevin Eubanks, Robert Hurst, Bruce Hornsby, and Jeff Watts.
• He appeared on the radio show Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! in the "Not My Job" segment. During this appearance, he said the saxophone was the sexiest instrument and made fun of the accordion. In a later episode, "Weird Al" Yankovic defended the accordion, and guest Yo-Yo Ma later agreed that the saxophone was the sexiest.
• Marsalis was interviewed on Space Ghost Coast to Coast Episode 10: "Gum, Disease" (aired November 11, 1994). Although the show’s crew described him as the most polite guest they had ever interviewed, he did not sign a release for merchandising rights, so the episode was not included on the Space Ghost Coast to Coast Volume One DVD.
• Marsalis appeared in Shanice’s 1992 hit song "I Love Your Smile." During the second part of the song, he played a solo, and Shanice said, "Blow, Branford, Blow."
• He acted in the movie Throw Momma from the Train (1987) as Lester and in Spike Lee’s 1988 film School Daze as Jordan.
• He had a small role as a repair man who asked Hillary on a date in the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air episode "Stop Will! In the Name of Love," and he appeared as himself in the episode "Sleepless in Bel-Air" (1994).
• Interviews with Marsalis are included in the documentary Before the Music Dies (2006).
• Marsalis was a guest judge on the final episode of the fifth season of Top Chef, which took place in New Orleans, Louisiana.
• On April 28 and 29, 2009, Marsalis performed with the remaining members of the Grateful Dead at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. This performance restarted a relationship that began when he played with them at a concert in Nassau Coliseum on March 29, 1990, during which fans of the Grateful Dead say one of the best versions of "Eyes of the World" was performed.
• On July 21, 2010, Marsalis joined Dave Matthews Band to perform the songs "Lover Lay Down," "What Would You Say," and "Jimi Thing" at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Charlotte, NC. This was the first time Marsalis performed with Dave Matthews Band, though he had previously played with Dave Matthews and Gov’t Mule on a cover of Bob Dylan’s "All Along the Watchtower" on December 16, 2006, in Asheville, NC. Marsalis performed with Dave Matthews Band again on December 12, 2012, at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC. For the Summer 2015 tour, Marsalis joined the band for three shows: May 22, 2015, in Raleigh, North Carolina ("Lover Lay Down," "Typical Situation," "Jimi Thing"); June 12, 2015, in Hartford, CT ("Death On The High Seas," "Spaceman," "Jimi Thing," "Warehouse"); and July 29, 2015, in Tampa, FL ("Lover Lay Down," "Typical Situation," "Jimi Thing").
• Marsalis performed with Bob Weir and Bruce Hornsby at two festivals in the summer of 2012. They first played at the All Good Music Festival in Thornville, OH, on July 19, 2012, and then performed at Gathering of the Vibes in Bridgeport, CT, the next day, July 20, 2012.
• Marsalis performed with Furthur at Red Rocks on September 21, 2013.
• Marsalis performed with Dead & Company during their second night of a two-night headlining performance at Lock’n Festival on August 26, 2018.

Discography

• Fathers & Sons with Wynton Marsalis, Ellis Marsalis, Chico Freeman, Von Freeman (Columbia, 1982)
• Scenes in the City (Columbia, 1984)
• Romances for Saxophone (CBS Masterworks, 1986)
• Royal Garden Blues (CBS, 1986)
• Renaissance (Columbia, 1987)
• Random Abstract (CBS/Sony, 1988)
• Trio Jeepy (CBS, 1989)
• Crazy People Music (Sony, 1990)
• Mo' Better Blues (Columbia, 1990)
• The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (Sony, 1991)
• Herve Sellin Sextet/Brandford Marsalis (Columbia, 1991)
• Sneakers (Columbia, 1992)
• I Heard You Twice the First Time (Columbia, 1992)
• David and Goliath (Rabbit Ears, 1992)
• Bloomington (Columbia, 1993)
• Buckshot LeFonque, Buckshot LeFonque (Sony, 1994)
• Loved Ones with Ellis Marsalis (Columbia, 1996)
• The Dark Keys (Sony Music, 1996)
• Buckshot LeFonque, Music Evolution (Sony, 1997)
• Requiem (Sony, 1999)
• Contemporary Jazz (Sony, 2000)
• Creation with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (Sony Classical, 2001)
• Footsteps of Our Fathers (Marsalis Music, 2002)
• Romare Bearden Revealed (Marsalis Music, 2003)
• Eternal (Marsalis Music, 2004)
• Braggtown (Marsalis Music, 2006)
• Metamorphosen with Branford Marsalis Quartet (Marsalis Music, 2008)
• American Spectrum (BIS, 2009)
• Songs of Mirth and Melancholy with Joey Calderazzo (Marsalis Music, 2011)
• Four MFs Playin' Tunes with Branford Marsalis Quartet (Marsalis Music, 2012)
• In My Solitude: Live at Grace Cathedral (Marsalis Music, 2014)
• Upward Spiral with Kurt Elling and Branford Marsalis Quartet (Marsalis Music, 2016)
• The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul with Branford Marsalis Quartet (Marsalis Music, 2019)
• Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Milan, 2020)
• Belonging with Branford Marsalis Quartet (Blue Note, 2025)

With Terence Blanchard
With Harry Connick Jr.
With Anna Maria Jopek
With Delfeayo Marsalis
With Ellis Marsalis Jr.
With Jeff "Tain" Watts

Filmography

• Bring on the Night (as himself) (1985)
• Throw Momma From the Train (as Lester) (1987)
• School Daze (as Jordan) (1988)
• Living Single (as himself) Season 2 (1994–1995)
• Mr. and Mrs. Loving (as the composer) (1996)
• Eve's Bayou (as Harry Delacroix) (1997)
• Branford Marsalis – The Sound Illusionist (2016)