The Dark Keys

This 1996 trio album, with Reginald Veal on bass and Jeff “Tain” Watts on drums, is one of Branford Marsalis’s most uncompromising statements. Like Kenny Garrett’s Triology, which preceded it by a year, it’s a solid hour of fierce, challenging music on which everyone is giving it all they’ve got, all the time. The opening title piece borrows John Coltrane’s four-note “A Love Supreme” fanfare, but develops it into something Coltrane might have played in the final year of his life, as Watts hammers the kit behind him; it’s relentless in the best possible way. There are no standards or interpretations of material by non-family members on this album; “Hesitation” is by Wynton, “Judas Iscariot” is by Delfeayo, and “Blutain” is by Watts, who was basically a Marsalis at this point. On “Sentinel,” he’s joined by fellow tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano, whose playing is a little more refined, but still gets up and out before long. On “Judas Iscariot,” Garrett pops by on alto; his playing is very much in a high-speed bebop style, bolstered by the hard-charging rhythm section. There are a few mellow moments — “A Thousand Autumns” is a patient ballad, “Blutain” a deep blues — but for the most part, The Dark Keys is the sound of Branford Marsalis going off. It’s not for everyone, but it has moments that’ll leave your mouth hanging open.