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Alexander artiest Branford Marsalis

Branford Marsalis
"After trying out a variety of reeds over the years, I’ve grown really fond of
Alexander Reeds. For awhile I've been working with Tom Alexander to get the
right combination for the mouthpieces I use. When playing jazz , Alexander
"DC"s (3 1/2) have the kind of response I need to produce a full and expressive
tone. These reeds are fabulous, and I would recommend them to any serious
saxophonist."
One of the most recognized jazz stars in the world today, Branford Marsalis,
has been using our reeds extensively since 2002.
Mr. Marsalis is the eldest son of the legendary pianist and educator Ellis
Marsalis. After studies at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and Berklee
College in Boston, Branford left school to tour with the big bands of Art Blakey,
Lionel Hampton and Clark Terry. Following a brief stay in Blakey’s legendary
Jazz Messengers, where his brother Wynton occupied the trumpet chair,
Branford joined Wynton’s original quintet and remained for three years, a period
in which he released his own first album as a leader and also performed and
recorded with Herbie Hancock, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins.
A leader of his own quartet since 1986, Branford’s wide-ranging musical
interests have also found him performing with Sting, the Grateful Dead and
Bruce Hornsby, serving as musical director of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,
leading the electric, hip-hop influenced band Buckshot LeFonque, collaborating
with classical orchestras and chamber ensembles, and teaching at Michigan
State and San Francisco State Universities. After nearly two decades as a
Columbia recording artist, Branford launched his own Marsalis Music label in
2002, which has issued the highly acclaimed Footsteps of Our Fathers by his
working quartet and The Marsalis Family: A Jazz Celebration, where Branford is
heard with his father and brothers Wynton, Delfeayo and Jason.
Among his CDs out are Romare Bearden Revealed, Branford’s quartet and
guests interpreting the music that inspired the painter Romare Bearden, who
was the subject of a major retrospective at the National Gallery in Washington,
D.C., Grammy Award nominated Eternal and A LOVE SUPREME LIVE IN
AMSTERDAM, all of which he used our reeds on.
Another side of three-time Grammy winner Branford Marsalis that should be
noted is that he serves as the Honorary Chair for Habitat for Humanity's New
Orleans Relief effort and has also established the Hurricane Katrina Musicians
Relief Fund. Branford is about as real as it gets whether on the bandstand or
helping people from his native New Orleans and we are honored that this
virtuosic leading saxophonist uses our reeds.