Branford Marsalis Credit: CourtesyMore than three decades ago, budding musician Branford Marsalis, then 20, toured Europe with legendary drummer Art Blakey. In the lead-up to the show, the Current spoke with the ever-outspoken saxophonist on classical music, Jay-Z and the art of – in his own words – fucking up. There’s a lot of freedom in classical music. Classical music makes me a much better saxophonist than jazz does. Ballads don’t sound good when you play patterns, so you don’t play them.