Branford Marsalis' second album as a leader followed his first by three years, and he had grown a lot in the interim. He had switched permanently to tenor (doubling on soprano), left his brother
Wynton's group, toured with
Sting, and begun heading his own group. Although using quartets on each of the seven selections,
Marsalis varies the personnel quite a bit, utilizing pianists
Ellis Marsalis,
Kenny Kirkland,
Larry Willis, and
Herbie Hancock; bassists
Ron Carter,
Charnett Moffett, and
Ira Coleman; and drummers Ralph Peterson,
Al Foster,
Marvin "Smitty" Smith, and
Jeff Watts. One of
Branford's more playful albums, the repertoire includes a tribute of sorts to his native New Orleans on "Royal Garden Blues" plus "Strike Up the Band" and then-recent originals. An excellent outing. ~ Scott Yanow