At the 2009 Newport Jazz Festival, saxophonist Branford Marsalis and his quartet were booked on the main stage. You'd expect that: The saxophonist has been one of the best-known and most powerful players in his line of work for decades, and his working band reflects that.
But Marsalis also booked himself another gig at that festival — a duet set on a much smaller stage with his quartet's pianist, Joey Calderazzo. (You can still hear NPR Music's recording of that concert online.) It was something of an experiment, but when the two finished, they knew they had to make a studio recording.
Songs of Mirth and Melancholy was released yesterday on Marsalis Music, Branford's own record label. On account of the new duo album, we asked Marsalis and Calderazzo to tell us about their personal favorite jazz pairings. --Ed.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
