Jazz & Pop Reviews : The Marsalises Keep On Coming

The First Family of jazz continues to spread its wings. Tuesday at Catalina, making its initial appearance outside New Orleans, the Delfeayo Marsalis sextet, which continues through Sunday, made its bow. A key figure in the 27-year-old trombonist’s support group is the drummer, Jason Marsalis, 15, Delfeayo’s youngest brother.

Just as surely as brother Wynton drew his main inspiration from Miles Davis, Delfeayo found his chief influence in J.J. Johnson, the father of modern jazz trombone. Dedicating his solo on “Misty” to the old master, he exhibited some of the same rhythmic nuances, often exploring even more adventurous areas with hectic flurries of triplets.

Marsalis shares the front line with a strongly contemporary tenor player, Mark Turner, and a more conservative, often plaintively compelling trumpeter, Antoine Drye. The set was wisely divided between original tunes from the leader’s biblically oriented album (“Pontius Pilate’s Decision”) and accessible standards, opening with Oscar Pettiford’s “Blues From the Closet.”

The rhythm section, sparked by the prodigious and propulsive teen-aged drummer, boasts an unconventional pianist, Victor Atkins, who demonstrated an ability to build from simple single-note lines to a powerful rhythmic chord-driven climax. Greg Williams, the bassist, may not achieve the same level of solo virtuosity but is a dependably solid timekeeper.

The three-horn front line was well employed in “The Weary Ways of Mary Magdalene,” putting dissonance to ingenious use.

An affable maestro who connected immediately with the audience, this latest Marsalis to burst to the forefront may soon achieve the respect earned by Branford and Wynton. A recent cartoon in the New Yorker may not be a joke. It showed a young boy waking his father: “Dad! Come here quick! They’ve discovered another Marsalis!” Indeed we have.