Crazy People Music

Crazy People Music was released in the summer of 1990, and marked a creative breakthrough for Branford Marsalis and his quartet. The group, with pianist Kenny Kirkland, bassist Robert Hurst, and drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, was a hard-gigging road band, having been together since 1986, but this was their first appearance together on record. Four of the album’s seven compositions come from Marsalis, and one is by Hurst. “Rose Petals” is by Keith Jarrett, from his 1976 album Shades; and the album’s closer, “The Ballad of Chet Kincaid,” is written by, um, Bill Cosby and Quincy Jones. There’s a none-too-subtle theme of heroism, as the first three tracks are called “Spartacus,” “The Dark Knight,” and “Wolverine,” and the performances definitely have a flexing-in-the-spotlight quality, with extended solos (three tracks go well past the 10-minute mark, and two others are between eight and nine minutes long) that feature fierce, aggressive playing from the leader. Hurst stretches out a lot on the nearly 13-minute “The Dark Knight,” but he’s prominent in the mix throughout and locks in perfectly with Watts, whose swing is lighter here than in the past. The drummer could sometimes thunder like a rock player, but here he’s dancing. Kirkland, who died in 1998, was a brilliant player who seemingly never let a note fall wrong, even when it seemed jarring in the moment. He always recovered a second later, dragging the music back into line, and that’s his role here, particularly noticeable on the sharp-elbowed “Wolverine.” If you only want to listen to one Branford Marsalis album, make it this one.