Author: Jonathon Norcross

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Master of sax Branford Marsalis brought his quartet to the Spa City last Friday night, tearing his way through a set that spanned sonically from melodious to an almost-violent composition by bassist Eric Revis that Marsalis called a “2 a.m. with handcuffs” kind of love song.

The Grammy-winning Marsalis has many claims to fame, including collaborations with the Grateful Dead, Sting, Dave Matthews, Spike Lee, Public Enemy, and Phil Collins. From 1992 to 1995, he was the leader of the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” band.

But in 2026, at 65 years young, Marsalis took the UPH audience on a journey that spanned from the Depression-era Jimmy McHugh tune “Sunny Side of the Street” (which Marsalis called “a wonderful song of American optimism”); the 1928 hit by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, “There Ain’t No Sweet Man That’ Worth the Salt of My Tears”; the 1960-recorded John Coltrane tune “26-2”; and 1974’s “Long As You Know You’re Living Yours,” a Keith Jarrett cover. Also performed was an audience-led rendition of “Happy Birthday,” sung in honor of pianist/birthday boy Joey Calderazzo.

A highlight was the encore “Nikaste,” an original composition by bassist Eric Revis. After some on-stage back-and-forth as to whether the song would be played towards the end of the set or during the encore, Marsalis’ quartet erupted with the unconventional love song. “You tell me what kind of ‘love’ you think this is,” Marsalis quipped before his drummer Justin Faulkner practically committed a violent crime upon his kit. Faulkner also displayed his grin-inducing habit of exclaiming “Aaahhh” every time he seemed to be enjoying himself.

This year, as Marsalis pointed out before playing “26-2”, is John Coltrane’s centennial. Saratogians can celebrate 100 years of the pioneering saxophonist at the forthcoming Saratoga Jazz Festival, which will include a salute to Coltrane by the Skidmore Jazz Institute Faculty All-Stars.

Cover of “Fallen Light” and author headshot both provided by Zachary Coffin.

WILTON — J.R.R. Tolkien. George R.R. Martin. Z.R. Coffin.

A Wilton resident will soon join the ranks of published fantasy authors when his debut novel, “Fallen Light,” is released the week of March 16.

The novel centers on Isaac, an arcanist tasked with retrieving an artifact located inside an ancient temple hidden in a remote forest. When attempting to grab the artifact, Isaac is ambushed and soon realizes there is a traitor amongst his arcanist clan. 

“It’s a very character-driven story,” Coffin told Saratoga TODAY. “I have magic and all these different races, like elves and orcs and dwarves and the typical high fantasy stuff. But what I focus on the most is how these characters interact with each other.”

Coffin got the fantasy bug when he was a kid, beginning his education with “Lord of the Rings” and “Star Wars.” He sparked his creativity by playing “Dungeons & Dragons” and other roleplaying fantasy games. He put his imagination to the test in a high school writers group, which joined other local school districts for conferences that included author-led workshops. In college, he grew from short stories to novels, drawing upon ideas he generated during D&D campaigns.

“I started trying to storyboard, and I wrote probably three novels that will never see the light of day because they’re not very good,” Coffin said. “But I refined that over the years and eventually got to [“Fallen Light”].”

Although many would-be novelists tend to kick around a book idea before tossing it into a desk drawer, Coffin realized his vision by a simple but effective method: Love of the game. 

One of Coffin’s favorite fantasy authors, Brandon Sanderson, posts writing courses to YouTube. In those lectures, Sanderson says he asked himself an important question: If I could never publish my books, would I still write? The answer, for both Sanderson and Coffin, was an emphatic “yes.”

“There’s an intrinsic kind of enjoyment to me doing it,” Coffin said of his writing. “Even if I just shared it with my friends and family, that’s good enough for me.”

Sanderson is something of a hero to self-published authors. His 2022 Kickstarter campaign to self-publish four novels earned him more than $41 million donated by 185,000-plus backers. Last month, the rights to Sanderson’s “Cosmere” books were picked up by Apple TV. The deal, described as “unprecedented” by The Hollywood Reporter, grants Sanderson near-complete creative control over the forthcoming adaptations of his work.

Coffin isn’t necessarily setting his sights as high as the singular Sanderson, but the self-publishing route is an increasingly popular one for many writers. Some authors with work released by major publishers have told Saratoga TODAY that despite the backing of a traditional publisher, they still spend a lot of their time marketing their own books and pouring countless hours into growing their social media followings. Many of them also have to work full-time jobs outside of their busy writing schedules, just to make ends meet.

“Figure out what you want to do first,” Coffin advises first-time authors. “Don’t really prescribe to what people are telling you you have to do. Figure out what aligns with how your life works and your interests, and then go from there.”

Coffin utilized the services of The Troy Book Makers, a company that aims to produce “attractive, well-designed books at a low cost” and has released dozens of titles. 

From conception to completion, Coffin estimates he spent about five or six years working on “Fallen Light.” With the book’s release imminent, prospective readers are advised to visit Coffin’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/zrcoffinauthor) for publishing updates. The novel will soon be available on Amazon and at local bookstores.