[SOLD OUT] Jazz Vespers: A Service of Celebration with Guest Artist Branford Marsalis
February 27,
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Speaker(s):Branford Marsalis, Guest Artist
UPDATE: The free tickets for this service have sold out.
With a theme of celebration, this Jazz Vespers worship service features prayers, poetry, scripture readings, and the music of guest artist and jazz icon Branford Marsalis.
An instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, and educator, Marsalis's musicianship has been recognized with, among many other honors, three GRAMMY Awards, a Tony nomination, an EMMY nomination, and a citation by the National Endowment for the Arts as Jazz Master. The founder of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he has three dozen albums to his name.
Over the past ten years, Jazz Vespers has become a beloved tradition at Duke Chapel. The services combine the ancient Christian tradition of evening vespers prayers with the aural idioms of Black sacred music, including jazz, gospel, and the spirituals. One feature of the services is a time of "jazz prayers," when congregants are invited to move to stations for various types of prayer, including candle lighting, anointing with oil, and blessing by a minister.
The Branford Marsalis Quartet, formed in 1986, remains Marsalis's primary means of expression. In its virtually uninterrupted three-plus decades of existence, the Quartet has established a rare breadth of stylistic range. The Quartet is releasing a new album, "Belonging," on March 28, a full album interpretation of Keith Jarrett's 1974 ECM album. But, Marsalis has not confined his music to the jazz quartet context. He recently composed a classical suite commissioned by the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. A frequent soloist with classical ensembles, he has become increasingly sought after as a featured soloist with acclaimed orchestras around the world. And his legendary guest performances with the Grateful Dead and collaborations with Sting have made him a fan favorite in the pop arena.
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