September 4, 2026
Saxophonist Branford Marsalis and vocalist Dianne Reeves have shared the new single “Dedicated to You,” the title track of their forthcoming John Coltrane tribute album which will be released on Sept. 18 in celebration of the jazz legend’s centennial. Dedicated to You offers new renditions of the six standards that appeared on the 1963 Impulse album John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, as well as additional instrumental performances of compositions from Coltrane’s canon, to create an exquisite homage.
It was inevitable that Marsalis would be approached with the idea of honoring Coltrane’s centennial. “I thought it was a great idea” he says,” but I wanted to take a road less travelled.” He was drawn to John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, which is considered among the ultimate examples of singer/ensemble synchronicity. But who to take the vocal chair? “At first I thought about male singers, but I decided to sleep on it,” Marsalis recalls, “and when I woke up the first thing I said was ‘Dianne Reeves.’ There is a magic sound within sound that we call ‘the thing,’ and Dianne’s got the thing. She’s heard a lot of people, which attracts me, and she adds so much emotion to whatever she does.”
When Marsalis’ longstanding quartet with pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Justin Faulkner met Reeves for the recording, the musical fit was seamless. Approaching ballads from a vocalist’s perspective, Reeves had the invaluable support of working as a teenager with Clark Terry. “Standards and good melody, that’s what we did,” she recalls of her time with the trumpet giant. “He knew every lyric and every melody. That’s my foundation. And he preached giving the song whatever it needs. Sometimes it needs space, sometimes a little embellishment, sometimes nothing at all. You have to figure out how to make it your story.” Moreover, as Reeves’ parents loved Johnny Hartman, she knew the Coltrane/Hartman classic inside and out as a child.
“John Coltrane was not about trying to destroy the norm,” Marsalis says. “He came up like Picasso. He knew the tradition and then saw how to expand it. He didn’t think of songs as ‘vehicles,’ he was sympathetic to the songs he played, and that’s our goal, to be sympathetic to the music. Which is what we will continue to do when we begin touring with Dianne in the fall.” Reeves is equally excited about the prospects. “I can’t wait to see where we take the music. I told Branford we may even need to dance.”
Branford Marsalis Quartet & Dianne Reeves – Tour Dates:
2026:
September 5 – Curaçao North Sea Jazz Festival – Willemstad, Curaçao
September 10 – Aronoff Center – Cincinnati, OH
September 12 – Cain Park – Cleveland Heights, OH
September 17-20 – Miner Auditorium – San Francisco, CA
September 27 – Heymann Performing Arts Center – Lafayette, LA
September 30 – Mondavi Center – Davis, CA
October 2 – Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center – Livermore, CA
October 3 – Musical Instrument Museum – Phoenix, AZ
October 6 – Hogg Memorial Auditorium – Austin, TX
October 7 – Kingsbury Hall – Salt Lake City, UT
October 8 – The Soraya – Northridge, CA
October 10 – Seattle Jazz Festival @ Town Hall – Seattle, WA
October 11 – Revolution Hall – Portland, OR
October 13 – Chan Centre for the Performing Arts – Vancouver, Canada
October 14 – Jack Singer Concert Hall – Calgary, Canada
October 16 – Symphony Center – Chicago, IL
October 17 – Ordway Concert Hall – St. Paul, MN
October 18 – Powell Symphony Hall – St. Louis, MO
October 27 – Carnegie Hall – New York, NY
November 3 – Palau de la Música Catalana – Barcelona, Spain
November 4 – Concertgebouw – Amsterdam, Netherlands
November 6 – Kulturraffinerie – Monheim am Rhein, Germany
November 8 – NOSPR – Katowice, Poland
November 9 – Wiener Konzerthaus – Vienna, Austria
November 10 – Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall – Zagreb, Croatia
November 12 – Béla Bartók National Concert Hall – Budapest, Hungary
November 14 – Isarphilharmonie – Munich, Germany
November 16 – Elbphilharmonie – Hamburg, Germany
November 18 – Philharmonie Luxembourg – Luxembourg
November 19 – Alte Oper – Frankfurt, Germany
November 21 – EFG London Jazz Festival – London, England
2027
February 4 – Millersville University – Lancaster, PA
February 5 – Zellerbach Theatre – Pennsylvania, PA
February 6 – Koerner Hall – Toronto, Canada
April 1 – Coolidge Auditorium – Washington DC
April 3 – SUNY Purchase Concert Hall – Purchase, NY
April 5 – Carolina Theatre of Greensboro – Greensboro, NC
April 7 – Lensic Performing Arts Center – Santa Fe, NM
April 8 – Popejoy Hall – Albuquerque, NM
April 11 – Charleston Gaillard Center – Charleston, SC
April 13 – Symphony Hall – Boston, MA
April 15 – St. Cecilia Music Center – Grand Rapids, MI
April 17 – Fox Cities Performing Arts Center – Appleton, WI
April 22 – Kleinhans Music Hall – Buffalo, NY
April 24 – Folly Theater – Kansas City, MO
Visit branfordmarsalis.com for more tour info.
