| The Dark Keys | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Branford Marsalis |
| Cover: | Branford Marsalis The Dark Keys.jpg |
| Released: | October 1996 |
| Recorded: | July & August 1996 |
| Genre: | Jazz |
| Length: | 55:29 |
| Label: | Sony Music |
| Producer: | Delfeayo Marsalis |
| Prev Title: | Loved Ones |
| Prev Year: | 1996 |
| Next Title: | Music Evolution |
| Next Year: | 1997 |
The Dark Keys is a jazz trio album by the Branford Marsalis Trio, featuring Branford Marsalis, Reginald Veal, and Jeff "Tain" Watts, with guest appearances from Kenny Garrett and Joe Lovano. Recorded July 31 to August 2, 1996, in the Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, New York, the album reached Number 9 on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart.
In his AllMusic review, Leo Stanley wrote that the performance "pushes at the borders of post-bop, adding elements of hip-hop and rock & roll, making for an adventurous and exciting listen." Steve Futterman concurred in his Entertainment Weekly review, noting that the album shows Marsalis returning "to contender status." Writing in 2009 in The New York Times, Ben Ratliff called the album one of the landmarks of the saxophone trio album tradition over the last 50 years.[1]