Branford Marsalis Biography (1960-)

Born August 26, 1960, in New Orleans (some sources say Breaux Bridge), LA; son of Ellis (a jazz pianist and high school music teacher) and Delores (a jazzsinger and substitute teacher) Marsalis; brother of Wynton Marsalis (a composer and actor); married Teresa Reese (an actress), 1985 (divorced, 1994); children: Reese Ellis. Addresses: Manager: Wilkins Management, 323 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139.; Contact: IMG Artist Worldwide, 825 Seventh Ave., 8th Floor, New York, NY 10019; 9520 Cedarbrook Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90210.

Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Occupation: Musician, recording artist, actor
Birth Details: August 26, 1960; New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Famous Works

CREDITS
Television Appearances
Series
Band leader, Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC, 1992-1995
Host, Friday Night Videos, NBC, 1992-
Specials
Bring on the Night (also known as Sting: Bring on the Night), 1985
Song performer, "Oleo," "I Thought about You," and "Giant Steps," Newport Jazz '87, PBS, 1987
Song performer, "502 Blues," Jacksonville Jazz Festival VII, PBS,1987
Song performer, "I Mean You," Celebrating a Jazz Master: Thelonious Sphere Monk, PBS, 1987
Saxophone player, Sting in Tokyo, HBO, 1989
The 32nd Annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 1990
Victory and Valor: A Special Olympics All-Star Celebration, ABC, 1991
Story of a People: Expressions in Black, syndicated, 1991
Jazz at the Smithsonian: Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, 1991
The Music Tells You, 1992
Buddy Warren, "Without a Pass," Showtime Thirty-Minute Movie, Showtime, 1992
NBC Super Special All-Star Comedy Hour, NBC, 1993
Count on Me, PBS, 1993
The Best of Disney Music: A Legacy in Song--Part I, 1993
Narrator, Reed Royalty, Bravo, 1993
The Winans' Real Meaning of Christmas, syndicated, 1993
40 for the Ages: Sports Illustrated's 40th Anniversary Special, NBC, 1994
Motown 40: The Music Is Forever (also known as Motown's 40th: ARetrospective), ABC, 1998
Vince Gill Live by Request, Arts and Entertainment, 1999
Newport Jazz `99, PBS, 1999
Men Strike Back, VH1, 2000
Interviewee, Ellis Marsalis: Jazz is Spoken Here (documentary), PBS, 2000
(Uncredited) Interviewee, Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story (documentary), TCM, 2002
Episodic
Late Night with David Letterman, 1985, 1988
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, 1991
Himself, "The SAT Score Scam," Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, PBS, 1991
"Sleepless in Bel-Air," The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, NBC, 1994
"Stop Will! In the Name of Love," The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, NBC, 1993
"I Love This Game," Living Single, Fox, 1994
"Gum, Disease," Space Ghost Coast to Coast (animated), Cartoon Network, 1994
Soul Train, 1995
Late Show with David Letterman, 1995
Voice of the Frog Prince, Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (animated), HBO, 1995
The Howard Stern Show, 1996
Hosted New Vision on VH1; appeared in Sesame Street, PBS; Evening at Pops, PBS; Sessions at West 54th, PBS.
Miniseries
Jazz, PBS, 2001
Television Work
Music director and arranger, Tonight Show with Jay Leno (series),NBC, 1992-1995
Music director, NBC Super Special All-Star Comedy Hour (special),NBC, 1993
Film Appearances
Lester, Throw Momma from the Train, Orion, 1987
Jordan (Da Fellas), School Daze, Columbia, 1988
Saxophone player, Do the Right Thing, 1989
Party guest, Mo' Better Blues, Universal, 1990
Saxophone player, Jazz at the Smithsonian: Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, 1990
Buddy Warren, Without a Pass, 1991
Branford Marsalis: The Music Tells You, 1992
Saxophone player, Malcolm X, Warner Bros., 1992
Harry Delacroix, Eve's Bayou, Trimark Pictures, 1997
Radio Appearances
Series
Host of JazzSet, National Public Radio.

RECORDINGS
Solo Albums
Scenes in the City, Columbia, 1984
Royal Garden Blues, Columbia, 1986
Renaissance, Columbia, 1987
Random Abstract, Columbia, 1988
Trio Jeepy, Columbia, 1989
Crazy People Music, Columbia, 1990
The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born, Columbia, 1991
I Heard You Twice the First Time, Columbia, 1992
Bloomington, Columbia, 1993
Dark Keys, Columbia, 1997
Requiem, Sony, 1999
Contemporary Jazz, Columbia, 2000
Creation, Sony, 2001
Other Albums
(Contributor) Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Live at Montreux and Northsea, Timeless, 1980
(With father Ellis Marsalis) Fathers and Sons, Columbia, 1981
(With brother Wynton Marsalis) Wynton Marsalis, Columbia, 1982
(With W. Marsalis) Think of One, Columbia, 1983
(With Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers) Keystone 3, Concord, 1983
(With Miles Davis) Decoy, Columbia, 1984
(With W. Marsalis) Hot House Flowers, Columbia, 1984
(With Andy Jaffe) Manhattan Projections, Stash, 1984
(Contributor) Dizzie Gillespie, Closer to the Source, Atlantic, 1984
(With W. Marsalis) Black Codes (from the Underground), Columbia, 1985
(With Sting) The Dream of The Blue Turtles, A&M, 1985
(Contributor) Dizzy Gillespie, New Faces, GRP, 1985
(With Sting) Bring On the Night, A&M, 1985
(Contributor) Kevin Eubanks, Opening Night, GRP, 1985
(With English Chamber Orchestra) Romances for Saxophone, Columbia,1986
(Contributor) Teena Marie, Emerald City, Epic, 1986
(Contributor) Tina Turner, Break Every Rule, Capitol, 1986
(With Duke Ellington Brass Band Orchestra) "Cottontail," on Digital Duke, GRP, 1987
(With Sting) Nothing Like the Sun, A&M, 1987
(Contributor) School Daze (soundtrack recording), 1988
Music from Mo' Better Blues, Sony, 1990
(With Sting) The Soul Cages, A&M, 1991
(Contributor) Weird Nightmare: Meditations on Mingus, Columbia, 1992
(Contributor) Guru, Jazzmatazz, Chrysalis/Capitol, 1993
(With Buckshot Le Fonque) Buckshot Lefonque, Sony/Columbia, c. 1994
(Contributor) Bela Fleck and the Fleckstones, Live Art, Warner Bros., 1996
(With Sting) Mercury Falling, A&M, 1996
(With Buckshot Le Fonque) Music Evolution, Sony, 1997
(Contributor) The Beautiful Thing, Verve, 1997
(Contributor) Jackies Blue Bag, Hip Bop Essence, 1997
Also recorded "Barcelona Mona" with Bruce Hornsby.
Film Soundtracks
Saxophone player, "We've Already Said Goodbye (Before We Said Hello)," School Daze, Columbia, 1988
Saxophone player, Do the Right Thing, 1989
Song performer, "Lament," Sea of Love, 1989
Music performer, The Russia House, 1990
Song performer, "Knocked out of the Box," Lonely Woman," "Jazz Thing," Say Hey," "Beneath the Underdog," "Mo' Better Blues," "Harlem Blues," and "Again Never," Mo' Better Blues, Universal, 1990
Music performer, Mo' Better Blues, Universal, 1990
Sneakers, Universal, 1992
Malcolm X, 1992
Music performer, Psalms from the Underground, 1995
Once in the Life, 2000
Books on Cassette
Musician, David and Goliath, Rabbit Ears, 1993
WRITINGS
Film Music
Songs, "Larry's Song" and "The Hallowed Tales of Delfbear," Throw Momma from the Train, Orion, 1987
Songs, "Say Hey," "Beneath the Underdog," "Pop Top 40," and "Knocked outof the Box," Mo' Better Blues, Universal, 1990
Without a Pass, 1991
Sneakers, Universal, 1992
(Contributor) Branford Marsalis: The Music Tells You, 1992
(Contributor) Black to the Promised Land, 1992
To My Daughter with Love, 1994
Mr. & Mrs. Loving, 1996
M'sieurs dames, 1997
Goosed, Tradewinds, 1999
Once in the Life, Lions Gate, 2000
3 A.M., Showtime, 2001
Television Music
Specials
"Murder in Metropolis," "Without A Pass," Showtime Thirty-Minute Movie, Showtime, 1992
40 for the Ages: Sports Illustrated's 40th Anniversary Special, NBC, 1994
Movies
To My Daughter with Love (also known as Single Dad), NBC, 1994
Mr. and Mrs. Loving, Showtime, 1996
Goosed, TMC, 2000
A Huey P. Newton Story, Black Starz!, 2001
3 AM, Showtime, 2001
Series
Theme music, Temporarily Yours, CBS, 1997
Composer of numerous songs, including "No Backstage Pass," "Solstice," and "Waiting for Rain."
Episodic
"As Ye Sow," Tales from the Crypt (also known as HBO's Tales from the Crypt), 1989

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals

Down Beat, March, 1987, p. 16; September, 1989, p. 94; November, 1989, p. 16; January, 1992, p. 16
Ebony, February, 1989, p. 66
Entertainment Weekly, May 2, 1997, p. 58
Esquire, June, 1992, p. 34
Gentleman's Quarterly, May, 1991, p. 198
New York, October 14, 1991, pp. 52-63
New York Times Magazine, May 3, 1992, pp. 40-42, 70-73
Rolling Stone, February 25, 1988, p. 16
Vogue, November, 1990, p. 256

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