CD: The Secret between the Shadow and the Soul

On "The Secret Between The Shadow And The Soul," legendary American saxophonist and Grammy winner Branford Marsalis' quartet - the Branford Marsalis Quartet - discovers the power of simple melodies

Working with singers such as Kurt Elling and Sting over the past few years, Marsalis learned what a central role simple melodies play. "Working with Kurt for a year and a half reminded me of what I learned at a gig with Sting," Marsalis says. "Working with a singer changes you without you realizing it. I focused more on the melodies and getting down to business," Marsalis explains

"My approach to composing, as with my solos, is much more oriented toward melody and rhythm, with the harmonic side coming in third," he emphasizes. "We design the harmonies after the melody, whereas with many others the harmonies are in the foreground. And we play in the gaps in between."

You can hear this new approach in every song on the album. Whether it's in the elegantly serene "Cianna" by Joey Calderazzo, the wild twists and turns of "Dance of the Evil Toys" by Eric Revis, or the delightfully musing "Life Filtering from the Water Flowers" by Branford Marsalis, the quartet gives the melodies of all the pieces room to breathe, playing clearly and structuredly in grand arcs and contexts

"Sonny Rollins showed how to play each piece with a huge vocabulary and how to use the sound of your instrument," Marsalis points out. "We, on the other hand, are all about sound and the ability of sound to evoke emotion. When you're dealing with sound, you never play something the same way twice. You listen to each other, and every song is different."

The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul confirms Branford Marsalis' view: the album is sophisticated, exciting and anything but defensive - this great band sounds better than ever.