Music Evolution is the second album of Branford Marsalis's jazz/hip-hop/rock group Buckshot LeFonque. Featuring guest appearances from David Sanborn, Guru and Laurence Fishburne, the album peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. The track "Another Day" reached number 65 in the UK singles chart in December 1997. The album is notable in Branford's discography for marking his first collaboration with pianist Joey Calderazzo and bassist Eric Revis, both of whom would go on to record in his quartet in the 2000s and 2010s.
Critical reception
In his AllMusic review, Leo Stanley calls the album a "stronger, more confident record" than the first Buckshot LeFonque album but criticizes it as uneven, noting that it "(finds) a vibrant, exciting common ground between hard bop and hip-hop" despite the "occasional lapse into aimless fusion." Writing in JazzTimes, Josef Woodard said the album "suggests a free-form radio show with an accent on African-American culture lineage." People magazine praised the album as "a sonic explosion that, even when it falters, is infused with the joy of playing."
Track listing
Personnel Branford Marsalis – Saxophones DJ Apollo – Wheels O' Steel Rocky Bryant – Percussion Reginald Veal – Acoustic Bass L. Carl Burnett – Guitar Joey Calderazzo – Piano Russell Gunn – Trumpet Mino Cinelu – Percussion David Sanborn – Alto Saxophone Reggie Washington – Bass John Touchy – Trombone Will Lee – Bass Frank McComb – Keyboards, Vocals Sue Pray – Viola Julien Barber – Viola Barry Finclair – Violin John Pintavalle – Violin Donna Tecco – Violin Richard Locker – Cello Carol Webb Sotomme – Concert Master 50 Styles: The Unknown Soldier – Vocals Laurence Fishburne – Spoken Word Ben Wolfe – Acoustic Bass Delfeayo Marsalis – Trombone Eric Revis – Acoustic Bass
References
External links BranfordMarsalis.com