Saxophonist extraordinaire Branford Marsalis claims his garlanded quartet is “a chamber group rather a jazz group”, by which he presumably means they are not thirsting for innovation but happy to celebrate and interpret tradition. Hence Belonging, a reprise of Keith Jarrett’s groundbreaking 1974 album that is also Marsalis’s debut for the Blue Note label skilfully resurrected by Don Was.
When Jarrett released Belonging, Branford was a high school R&B fan, later discovering the record via the pianist here, Joey Calderazzo. For Jarrett, Belonging proved a seminal work, rescuing him from electric-era Miles for the organic sound of Jarrett’s European Quartet, where Norwegian sax player Jan Garbarek starred. These were happy times, clear from the 70s band’s joyous playing, most strikingly on As Long As You Know You’re Living Yours, a jaunty, funk-influenced number that Donald Fagen eventually admitted he’d pinched for Steely Dan’s Gaucho.
It remains a towering piece, with Marsalis faithfully following Garbarek’s mid-solo acrobatics, though his tone is a tad less abrasive, Calderazzo’s chords less pummelling. The group explore lyrical pieces such as Blossom with equal aplomb, with Marsalis playing burnished soprano on Solstice. Jarrett, who has been left unable to perform after a stroke in 2018, will doubtless enjoy every charmed minute.
