DACAMERA Presents Branford Marsalis At Wortham Center This January

DACAMERA's 2019-20 season continues its jazz series with saxophonist Branford Marsalis at the Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020, at 8 p.m. The NEA Jazz Master, Grammy Award-winner and Tony Award- nominee returns to the DACAMERA stage alongside the quartet he has led for the past three decades.

Born the son of a pianist in the rich environment of New Orleans, Marsalis was drawn to music at an early age. His fascination with jazz grew as he entered college and began performing with trumpet legend Clark Terry and brother Wynton Marsalis in Art Blakey's legendary Jazz Messengers. Marsalis formed his own quartet in 1986 and still performs with the group, which includes Joey Calderazzo, piano; Eric Revis, bass; and Justin Faulkner, percussion.

"Jazz is a funny word," Marsalis said. "Everybody wants to be associated with it, even if they don't play jazz or even like jazz. I'm a fan of improvisation, but that doesn't make it jazz. It just makes it improvisation. Jazz has a sound."

Though his foundation is in jazz, classical music inhabits a growing portion of Marsalis's musical universe. With a repertoire that includes works by Copland, Debussy, Glazunov, Ibert, Mahler, Milhaud, Rorem, Vaughan Williams, Villa-Lobos and Sally Beamish, the saxophonist frequently performs with world-renowned symphony orchestras including those in Chicago, Detroit, Dusseldorf and North Carolina, as well as the New York Philharmonic.

Marsalis's wide range and virtuosity establishes him as a familiar presence beyond the worlds of jazz and classical music. In addition to collaborations with jazz legends including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock and Sonny Rollins, he has performed duets with several major pianists, including his childhood friend Harry Connick, Jr. and the longtime pianist in his quartet, Joey Calderazzo. Marsalis has also contributed to Broadway: his original composition for a revival of August Wilson's Fences garnered a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music in a Play and a Tony nomination for Best Original Score Written for the Theater. The saxophonist has also toured with Sting, collaborated with the Grateful Dead and Bruce Hornsby, served as musical director of The Tonight Show Starring Jay Leno and hosted National Public Radio's widely syndicated Jazz Set.

DACAMERA's jazz music series continues with the Vijay Iyer Sextet on Saturday, Feb. 20, and Dafnis Prieto Big Band on Saturday, Mar. 21.

Tickets for Branford Marsalis start at $42.50 and are available by contacting DACAMERA, 1402 Sul Ross, at 713-524-5050 or online at www.dacamera.com. Tickets for students and senior citizens are always half-price. $5 student rush tickets are available 30 minutes before the concert begins.