Marshall Keys is that wonderful breed of jazz artist that aspires to truth and beauty in every aspect of his work. When this intelligent player of both alto and soprano saxophone — an artist who has worked with the likes of Lionel Hampton and Stevie Wonder — happens upon a performer who touches him deeply, he finds a way to introduce that visionary to the public.
Therefore, as Keys and his band play Sunday at Blues Alley, they will be joined onstage by an artist called 13 of Nazareth.
“I heard 13 at an event and was spellbound hearing this guy talk,” Keys remembered of the man who makes his living as a spoken word artist. “I found him so compelling that I wanted to share what he did with my audience.”
Keys, himself inspired by the virtuosity of performers such as Jackie McLean and Pat Metheny, will treat those gathered to music from his recently released CD, “Times Aligned,” while 13 of Nazareth recites solo between some of the songs.
Performing for the first time at Blues Alley as a band leader, Keys is joined by hand-picked musicians with whom he has previously worked in various combinations. They are drummer Mark Prince, bass player Michael Bowie, pianist Dan Reynolds and a percussionist named Jabari Exum, who plays the djembe, a goblet-shaped, skin-covered hand drum.
“I’ll be doing a song from my album called ‘Anywhere You Say’ that was inspired by a Pat Metheny song that I really loved called ‘Are You Going with Me?’ ” Keys said, laughing and noting his song answers the former.
Keys, whom music critic Mike Sagar in Esquire magazine hailed as a saxophone player “with a sense of grace and emotion that is wholly without cliche,” hopes his wife, Eva Hambach, will join the group for a song she wrote for “Times Aligned” called “La Marsa,” about her hometown in Tunisia.
Keys also plans some Dizzy Gillespie as well as a Caribbean-influenced song called “Fungii Mama” written by trumpeter Blue Mitchell.
“I like variety and I try to have something personally beautiful in all the music I play,” Keys said.
