Eternal
Here Branford Marsalis takes on the special challenges of the all-ballad album: to make a CD that's distinctive and that maintains interest at slower and medium tempos. He starts by avoiding the usual repertoire, instead dividing his program between seldom-heard tunes--like "Gloomy Sunday" and "Dinner for One Please, James"--and originals.  Each member of the quartet--pianistJoey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis, and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts--contributes a ballad. What's most striking is Marsalis's concentrated emotional focus. On tenor he reaches deep into the tradition, summoning up some of the expressive depth ofColeman HawkinsandBen Webster, while his soprano saxophone is piquant over the Latin beat of "The Ruby and the Pearl" and crystalline on Calderazzo's graceful, melancholy "Lonely Swan." Marsalis's own "Eternal" is a multi-faceted voyage sparked by Watts's inventive drumming and climaxing with a keening, swirling tenor solo of real lyric passion.--Stuart Broomer