Live Jazz events & concerts in Greece

Few contemporary pairings of saxophonist and pianist have been as inspired and productive as that of Branford Marsalis and Joey Calderazzo. Adding duo performances to their quartet collaboration is an idea launched after the 2009 Newport Jazz Festival, where they played four tunes in a short set and the interaction was really happening. That’s when they decided to record.“I have only played duo with Harry (Harry Connick jr)., my dad and Joey,” the saxophonist says, “and with Joey I can go in different directions.” As in his previous duo encounters, the goal for Marsalis is musicality rather than technicality. “Playing duos is not a ‘you know the chords, I know the chords, let’s go’ situation,” he emphasizes. “It’s not just starting and stopping at the same time. I need a constant level of engagement from everyone when I play, and the drums in a jazz group can change the equation, in the sense that it can cover up people in a band who are just playing their parts. The duo is more like classical chamber music. You have to listen to each other or it doesn’t work.” Calderazzo concurs. “I like the idea of improvising together, instead of ‘backing’ a soloist. If you trust what I’m trying to do, the music we make together will be far more interesting than what you could do on your own, and my partners have that same freedom to make what I do sound better. I can throw anything at Branford, and his ears are so good that he’ll always figure out something to play. And the variety of ways that he can play makes the duo really interesting

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