By Jim Harrington

The folks at Stanford Lively Arts sure know how to get the party started. Case in point: The arts organization is set to launch its 2008-09 season on Sunday (Oct. 5) with a performance featuring saxophone master Branford Marsalis.

The Grammy-winning sax man, the oldest of the three musical Marsalis brothers, has something cool in store for his fans this time around. He’s blowing into town as part of the ensemble Marsalis Brasillianos, which also features members of Philarmonia Brasileira.
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It was a monumental year for jazz by the Bay.

Notably, we celebrated milestone anniversaries for both the Monterey (50) and San Francisco (25) jazz festivals. We also marked the opening of the new Yoshi’s in San Francisco, which fills a major gap in that city’s arts scene.

I was fortunate to attend many of this year’s biggest jazz events , as well as some of the smaller, though equally enjoyable, concerts. The following is a look back at the year in live jazz in the Bay Area, courtesy of my own personal Top 10 list.

Top 10 jazz concerts of 2007
1. Ornette Coleman
(Oct. 28, Masonic Auditorium, San Francisco)
The saxophone hero could have begun resting on his laurels about 1959, the year his groundbreaking “The Shape of Jazz to Come’’ was released. Instead, he went the other way and fashioned a lengthy and lasting legacy that is simply beyond compare. This Masonic show _ as exciting a night of jazz as I’ve experienced in years _ showed that Coleman isn’t finished writing his own legend. We’re clearly in the midst of a prime era for this gifted musician, who won both a Lifetime Achievement Grammy and a Pulitizer Prize in 2007.

2. Monterey Jazz Festival
(Sept. 21-23, Monterey County Fairgrounds)
The 50th anniversary of the world’s most prestigious jazz festival proved to be everything a fan could’ve hoped. We saw great sets by the East Bay’s own Dave Brubeck, Sonny Rollins and _ yes, him again _ Ornette Coleman. With due respect to Oscar Peterson and a handful of others, one could make a very convincing case that Brubeck, Rollins and especially Coleman are the three greatest living jazz artists. Throw in my gal _ Diana Krall _ and you’ve got an anniversary occasion to remember for the next 50 years.

3. The Christian McBride Situation
(July 27, Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, Oakland)
At the start of the show, the bass wizard instructed fans to “strap up _ we will reach our cruising altitude of infinity shortly.’’ The combo _ featuring East Bay saxophonist Dave Ellis, DJ Jahi Sundance and keyboardist Patrice Rushen _ proceeded to perform one of the most impressive evenings of wholly improvised music that I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing. That, dear friends, was jazz.

4. Josh Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, Brian Blade
(May 4, Herbst Theatre, San Francisco)
For this SFJAZZ concert, saxophonist Redman, pianist Mehldau, bassist McBride and drummer Blade _ a quartet that worked together for two years in the ‘90s _ reunited to honor the great Thelonious Monk. The band used the opportunity to perform sensational covers/reinterpretations of songs found on the acclaimed “Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall’’ record.

5. E.S.T.
( May 22, Yoshi’s at Jack London Square)
The Esbjorn Svensson Trio (E.S.T.) is a Swedish outfit that plays “America’s music’’ better than just about anyone. That’s the good news. The better news is that the band _ featuring pianist Svensson, bassist Dan Berglund and drummer Magnus Ostrom _ accomplishes that feat in startingly new and refreshing ways. Plus, it’s equally good on record and in concert.

6. Medeski Scofield Martin and Wood
(Sept. 20, Montalvo Arts Center, Saratoga)
MMW _ keyboardist John Medeski, drummer Billy Martin and bassist Chris Wood _ is already so great in concert that the thought of adding champion guitarist John Scofield to the mix seems totally unfair to all the other working jazz combos. Thankfully, life isn’t always fair _ and the fans at Montalvo received a gluton’s share of jazz riches on this evening.

7. Ravi Coltrane
( July 25, Yoshi’s at Jack London Square)
I’ve been lucky to catch John C’s son on numerous occasions _ including in performance with his mother, Alice Coltrane, at the Masonic in 2006 and as part of an all-star band at the grand opening of Yoshi’s San Francisco last month. That Masonic gig was a magical evening, one that ranked as my pick for best jazz concert of 2006, but the finest saxophone work that I’ve heard Ravi deliver came at this Yoshi’s show.

8. Chick Corea, Gary Burton
(Feb. 17, Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley)
Pianist Corea and vibraphonist Burton share a undeniable musical bond, one that manifested to the greatest extent on 1972’s masterful “Crystal Silence.’’ On this evening, the pair celebrated the 35th anniversary that landmark album with an evening of duets that made one wonder why on earth do these two players ever perform separately?

9. Branford Marsalis
(Feb. 12, Yoshi’s at Jack London Square)
Wynton’s sax-blowing brother was in exceptionally fine form on this night, which featured a mix of original tunes composed by Branford and his band mates (drummer Jeff “Tain’’ Watts, bassist Eric Revis and pianist Joey Calderazzo). The best of the lot was Marsalis’ own “Sir Roderick, the Aloof,’’ which included a spiraling soprano sax solo that sent shivers down fans’ spines.

10. Chris Botti
(Feb. 16, Paramount Theatre, Oakland)
I won’t make the Jazz Police happy by including Botti on this list. The self-appointed guardians of “real jazz’’ don’t like this trumpeter because he has the nerve to sell large numbers of records. Their reasoning goes something like this: If the general public likes it then it can’t be worthwhile jazz. If, however, you’d rather enjoy an evening of beautifully performed instrumental ballads than stay at home and worry about your “cool’’ credentials, I highly recommend catching Botti in concert.

At one point during his sensational opening night concert at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, Branford Marsalis took his performance to that rarefied level that mere jazz mortals can only dream of reaching.

It occurred during the third selection on Monday (Feb. 12) as the 46-year-old saxophonist blew a spiraling soprano lead that sent shivers down the backs of everyone in the sold-out house. He was evidently feeling it too. When the solo came to its glorious conclusion, and the song ended, Marsalis staggered up to the microphone looking a bit dazed and confused. He was still caught up in the moment, which made announcing the song’s title a bit difficult.

“What the hell was that? What did we just play?” Marsalis turned to ask his band mates. “Oh, yeah, it was `Sir Roderick, the Aloof.”’

That was the one moment at the Oakland club when Marsalis seemed the most human and, ironically, the most superhuman at the same time. Like his younger brother, trumpeter Wynton, this Marsalis often comes across like the perfect portrait of the modern-day jazz musician. He presents an image that is so cool, so in control, that it’s hard to imagine him every making a misstep either in concert or, moreover, during his entire career.

That image has helped him become of one of the most famous jazz players in the business. Yet, it’s when that image breaks down, and he really lets himself go, that Marsalis makes his best music on the live stage.

That happened a few times during the first gig of this four-night stand at Yoshi’s, which concludes Thursday (Feb. 15), but never more dramatically then with “Sir Roderick.”

That original tune was the only selection offered up during the six-song set that hailed from Marsalis’ most recent offering, 2006’s stellar “Braggtown.” One wishes he would have delved more deeply into that work. In particular, it would have been nice to hear the Grammy-nominated tune “Hope,” which was beat out at Sunday’s award show by the late Michael Brecker’s “Some Skunk Funk” in the category of Best Jazz Instrumental Solo.

Marsalis was leading his regular quartet, which features drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, bassist Eric Revis and pianist Joey Calderazzo. There’s no doubt that this foursome ranks as one of the finest working bands in jazz.

What makes this quartet so special is how well the players read one another and anticipate each other’s movements. That only comes with time, which is something this quartet has in abundance. In a era when groups change members as frequently as Taco Bell adds new menu items, the fact that Marsalis has been able to keep this unit together for roughly a decade is downright amazing.

Correspondingly, most of the highlights of this show _ with the notable exception of Marsalis’ lead in “St. Roderick” _ were related to group performances. Usually, it’s just the other way around, with individual solos drawing the most gasps from the crowd.

Not wasting any time, the group ran like Mercury through the opening number, Watt’s “The Impaler,” which the drummer recorded on his own 1999 CD, the cleverly titled “Citizen Tain.” The song featured some mesmerizing exchanges between its composer and Calderazzo.

Switching from tenor to soprano, Marsalis called for another tune written by one of his band members _ Calderazzo’s “The Lonely Swan.” The song, which the quartet recorded on Marsalis’ 2004 CD “Eternal,” started off slow, drenched with soft piano passages that fell like the rain outside, and gradually built toward a mid-tempo Latin-infused number.

Following the free-jazz fandango of the next number, Marsalis’ own “St. Roderick,” the band pulled a U-turn and headed into gentler, more familiar territory with a fine take on Thelonious’ “Monk’s Dream.”

Marsalis stepped to the forefront again with a rousing lead during a main-set-closing version of John Coltrane’s “Blue Train,” which included a playful quote from “The Girl from Ipanema.” The band returned for an encore and played another “Tain” track, the splendid “Mr. J.J.” _ spiced up with a visit to “Sweet Home Chicago.”

To borrow from another J.J. _ TV’s Jimmie “J.J.” Walker _ this show was “dyn-o-mite!”

Write jazz critic Jim Harrington at jharrington@angnewspapers.com. For more jazz coverage, visit www.insidebayarea.com/jimharrington.

If you go . . .
Branford Marsalis in concert
When: 8 and 10 p.m. Feb. 13-15
Where: Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland
Tickets: $26
Call: (510) 238-9200 or visit www.yoshis.com.

Also: 8 p.m. Feb. 17 at Jackson Hall at U.C. Davis. Tickets are $16-$42. Call (866) 754-ARTS or visit www.mondaviarts.org.