Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 28, 1995 TAG: 9503010022
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
Marsalis, best known as a jazz musician, billed it as "Buckshot LeFonque, a Branford Marsalis Project." But it wasn't jazz, not strictly.
Buckshot LeFonque is Marsalis' musical hybrid of jazz, hip-hop, R&B and rock, something the saxophonist himself calls "its own thing" and difficult to classify.
He was right about that.
Marsalis and his 12-member band pushed this mix to the edge at Preston Auditorium, sometimes with the best results, sometimes with the worst.
The band included a drummer, bassist, two keyboard players, a percussionist, guitarist, trumpeter, trombone player, a DJ mix master and three rappers, along with Marsalis on sax.
As a funky jazz outfit, this oversized band had its moments, coming through at times with an infectious hip-hop groove. Within that groove, the band members had ample opportunity to solo in the best jazz tradition, with each taking the spotlight for extended improvisations.
As with most jazz performances, these solos proved to be the show's best moments. And to his credit, Marsalis didn't hog the spotlight as he could have. He wisely just took his turn.
Of course, this free-form format isn't accessible to everyone. Jazz fans probably were pleased that Marsalis followed his jazz loyalties. Others looking for something more in the mainstream likely were disappointed.
For the most part though, the Radford audience, which didn't quite fill Preston's 1,000-seat capacity, was enthusiastic throughout the two-hour show.
Where Marsalis maybe stumbled with this musical experiment, however, was with the experiment itself.
Arguably, it just doesn't work.
In the end, the final product of this hybrid was ultimately weaker than the individual components. Hip-hop by itself, or rap, and certainly straight-ahead jazz, all are more effective as separate life forms than they are mixed together.
After a stunning Marsalis saxophone solo, for example, scratching turntables add nothing.
Also, the frantic hip-hop groove left little room for subtlety, which would have been a welcome counterpoint to the otherwise ferocious pace of the music.
As for the rap songs, all three were mediocre at best - incomprehensible was more accurate - and paled against the superior musicianship they drowned out. Even Marsalis seemed perplexed, cracking: "I would translate for you, but I don't know what the hell they're saying either."
By the way, Buckshot LeFonque was once the pseudonym used by legendary jazz saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderly when he moonlighted on pop and R&B records in the 1950s.
Marsalis is taking an indefinite hiatus from his duties as the "Tonight Show" band leader, and there has been widespread speculation that he doesn't plan to return to the show. If he doesn't, let's just hope his Buckshot LeFonque period also doesn't last too long so Marsalis can move on to something, well, more interesting.
by CNB