More than 40 years into his career, Grammy-winning musician Branford Marsalis shows no signs of slowing down. The self-described “restless” classical and jazz musician has recorded dozens of albums, composed music for film and stage, and led the Tonight Show Band for three years during Jay Leno’s run as host. His latest project is the score for the George C. Wolfe-directed biopic Rustin on Netflix. The film stars Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin, the openly gay advisor to Martin Luther King Jr.
Marsalis tells The Treatment about collaborating with Wolfe on Rustin and their, at times, divergent takes on the music choices for the film. He discusses the importance of the sound of a room on the authenticity of the music. And he explains the problem with only listening to music intellectually and not emotionally.
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