JWM - Volume 3, Issue 2 - (Page 92)

my passion Branford marsalis Enjoying thE journEy as wEll as thE gamE T Stan Badz/Getty ImaGeS he first time Branford marsalis swung at a golf ball, he missed. He still smiles at the recollection—a giveit-your-all attack that connected with nothing but the breeze and was witnessed by a crowd on the first tee of a celebrity golf event in minneapolis. No matter, though, because the world-renowned saxophonist had found his game. “i grew up playing sports that dealt with motion, and i considered myself fairly athletic, so the idea that you could swing at a stationary object and miss it completely ... i just thought, ‘wow that’s awesome—a new thing to learn,’ ” he says. Seventeen years later, the now 52-year-old three-time Grammy winner is a 9.7 handicap who travels with his clubs. “Sometimes i’ll just chip and putt in a room,” he says, “but if we’re somewhere long enough—i play.” He loves the escape golf provides, as well as the people he meets along the way. Golf was not part of the musical New orleans household where Branford, the oldest of six brothers, including trumpeter wynton, grew up to the sound of his father, a jazz musician and teacher, practicing piano. But the connections are many. “music and golf are constant works in progress. when you have a bad concert, you have go back to the basics, get into the practice room and start all over again. Same with a bad round,” he says. “i played everywhere even when i stunk. i knew eventually i’d get better. it was the equivalent of listening to a 7 year old play the clarinet.” marsalis has been traveling, horn in hand, since college. His discography boasts 29 titles, including his quartet’s summer 2012 release: Four MFs Playin’ Tunes. He attributes the cD’s energy and intensity to the band’s young drummer, justin Faulkner. “it’s like having a new club in the bag that makes you 15 years younger,” he says laughing. as the gigs and the golf rounds amass, marsalis is enjoying the journey. “i understand enough to know that i’ll never play golf well,” he says. “a lot of people would find it a turnoff to constantly be in a situation where they’re reminded how bad they are at something—but i like that. it inspires me to do better. i can hit one out of every 10 shots the way my golf coach taught me. But it’s not the one that keeps me coming back—it’s the other nine.” — k at e m e y e r s “Music and golf are constant works in progress.” J WM MAGAZINE 92 j w m a r r i o t t. c o m http://www.JWMARRIOTT.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JWM - Volume 3, Issue 2

JWM - Spring 2013
Table of Contents
JW Experts
Contributors
Editor’s Letter
Distinctive Products, People, Ideas & Style
A Quiet Place
Say “Aaah”
Everything Old Is New Again
Art Happenings
The Portal
Rediscovering Cusco
Go Fish
Class Act
JW Experience
My Passion

JWM - Volume 3, Issue 2