Royal Garden Blues (album)
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- RCA (New York City, New York)
- Blue Wave (St. Philip, Barbados)
- Newbury Sound (Boston, Massachusetts)
| Royal Garden Blues | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1986 | |||
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| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Label | Columbia[1] | |||
| Producer | Delfeayo Marsalis | |||
| Branford Marsalis chronology | ||||
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Royal Garden Blues is an album by the American saxophonist Branford Marsalis, released in 1986.[2][3] Marsalis promoted it with a North American tour.[4]
The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist".[5] It peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's Traditional Jazz Albums chart.[6]
Royal Garden Blues was produced by Delfeayo Marsalis.[7] Ron Carter and Herbie Hancock contributed to the album.[8]
The title track is a cover of the jazz standard.[9] Its video was directed by Spike Lee.[10] "Strike Up the Band" is a version of the song composed by George Gershwin.[11] "Emanon" was written by Wynton Marsalis.[12] "Shadows was written by Larry Willis.[13] Ellis Marsalis Jr. played piano on "Swingin' at the Haven", which he also wrote.[14] "The Wrath of Tain", a tribute to drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts, was written by Branford.[15]
Critical reception
Robert Christgau labeled Marsalis the "more fun" member of the family, but determined that "his artistic personality is still unformed."[17] The Los Angeles Times noted that "despite having been bitten by the rhythm-and-blues bug and stung by Sting, the saxophonist-leader leaves no doubt that jazz is his home turf."[12] The Sun-Sentinel stated that the music "is played very conservatively, without any hint of modern musical forms, instrumentation or rhythms."[22]
The Chicago Tribune concluded: "Formerly inclined to summon up as much heat as possible, Marsalis seems to have realized that he is not a passionate, ecstatic player but a coolheaded, technically agile craftsman."[23] The New York Times wrote that the album is "steeped in the songful, harmonically complex style of the mid-1960's Miles Davis quintet and of the Blue Note Records stable."[24] The Sunday Times considered the title track "a serious, unflinching improvisation."[25]
AllMusic deemed Royal Garden Blues "one of Branford's more playful albums."[16]
