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Kenny Garrett Kenny Garrett is one of the most exciting saxophonists of the past decade. His playing is characterized by a rough and raucous tone and a preference for jazz, funk and swing. Garrett started his career with the Duke Ellington Orchestra and first made a name for himself when he joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. His big international breakthrough followed when he was chosen as the new saxophonist in the Miles Davis Band. Kenny Garrett started playing the saxophone at about nine years of age. His father played saxophone, tenor saxophone. He was introduced to music by hearing jazz in the household, hearing R&B, gospel. His father taught him the scales and then he sent him off to music school and after that He focused on studying the saxophone. He grew up in Detroit, Michigan. He used to bring his saxophone and play before school and after school, but his school didn't have a program. Marcus Belgrave is one of his mentors. He's like the pillar of the community in Detroit. He's been there for a while and he's helped a lot of people come through the ranks. He joined the Duke Ellington Band, He ended up staying in the Ellington Band for about three years and a half. He had the opportunity to play with Cootie Williams and sat under Norris Turney, who is a protege of Johnny Hodges. After three and a half years he moved to New York. He also played with the Mel Lewis Orchestra. He played with Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Miles, of course, Dizzy, Herbie Hancock, Sting, just to name a few. Kenny recognizes Art Blakey as one of the masters who allowed musicians to hone their craft in his institutions. He taught him how to play in a short amount of time because there are so many other horn players and everybody needed a chance to express themselves. Each player would get two choruses, maybe three and then they'd have to get out of there. He learned a lot, some things about being a band leader, what to do and some things not to do. That was a stepping stone. There was a period when he was playing with Miles and Art Blakey at the same time. He ended up staying with Miles for five years. He definitely learned a lot. Miles and he had a great relationship. They developed a non verbal relationship. A call and response. Miles played something and Kenny played it back. They communicated through the music. Garrett understood bebop. He also understood the James Brown that Miles was doing at that time. Garrett understood the Prince that Miles was doing at that time also. Garrett grew up on James Brown and was listening to Prince, so it was actually a perfect vehicle for him. He learned so much. He was like a sponge. He tried to absorb as much as He could in those five years. Garrett thinks it's important to first have a band to work on his compositions and develop as an artist. He's been stubborn in his own way, but always wanting to present his own music. He feels that if the standard songs are continued to be played the same way, than nothing is going to develop. Right now, his band, is Chris Dave, Shedrick Mitchell, piano and organ, and Nat Reeves. He think the public tries to limit an artist, he thinks an artist must remain strong and takes strength in remembering how Miles was always moving ahead, while the critics and public wanted Miles to keep playing "Kind of Blue." Miles said, "No, that's not going to work." As Garrett explains the current state of jazz, "Jazz was about a revolution. Now, there's no revolution in the music. It's not about that. The times are different and people's experiences are different. You can't expect someone to be like the other great musicians, not saying there can't be great musicians but they won't be like the past great musicians. Every generation, maybe we lose something. Now it's cyberspace. we're losing a little bit of something and we're gaining something, we don't know what's going to happen in the years to come, we lose some things and we gain some things, every generation. Jazz has always been fused together. If you listen to Coltrane, he was using Indian music. He had an Indian scale. He was using Japanese scales, all those same elements. There's more music than there used to be. We have six CD changers. We have a remote. Society is dictating how quick we should move. I think that hurts a little bit. Now everybody wants to be rappers. So it is a different time. They don't want to learn to play an instrument. That's too time consuming for them. It doesn't mean they don't have any knowledge of the music. They have another way of approaching the music. I listen to that and how a guy who hasn't studied the music will piece this stuff together and makes it musical. It might not be what we want, but it's something that is a little different. The presentation is a little different. If you take a hip hop beat and you speed it up, you have drum and bass. If you take a beat from the 70s, you call it acid jazz. It's another name, but it's still the same music. The presentation is just different." With his latest album, alto sax powerhouse Kenny Garrett continues to build a legendary body of work. Following 1997's 'Song Book,' Grammy-nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, 'Simply Said' is intense, imaginative and expressive. He's performed and recorded with greats such as Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw and The Duke Ellington Orchestra, but, simply said, Kenny Garrett is making a name for himself. Down Beat awarded Song Book four-and-a-half stars (out of five), calling it "powerhouse music...Garrett's finest hour." In 1996, Rolling Stone named Garrett its annual "Hot Jazz Artist" and the Down Beat Readers' Poll proclaimed him "Alto Saxist of the Year," unseating Phil Woods, who had dominated the category since 1975. 'Simply Said' is Garrett's fifth solo Warners album, eighth overall. After his solo indie debut and two for Atlantic ('Prisoner of Love,' 'African Exchange Student'), his Warners debut was 'Black Hope' (1992), followed by 'Triology' (1995), 'Pursuance: The Music Of John Coltrane' (1996), featuring Metheny, and 'Song Book.' More info: http://members.tripod.com/dap54/index.html http://www.bluenote.co.jp/sax/sax-p/fusion/garrett.html http://lejazz.simplenet.com/09/fr/inter/index1.htm http://www.jazzfest99.com/Bios/bios_garrett.html http://www.productreviewnet.com/abstracts/0/386.htm http://www.waypages.com/music/jazz/artists/G/Kenny_Garrett.HTM http://www.jazzonline.com/hotpick.cfm?relNum=57 http://www.wbjazz.com/ http://www.sdsystems.com/jazz.htm http://www.newstimes.com/archive97/aug2197/mue.htm http://www.allaboutjazz.com/REVIEWS/R0699_116.HTM http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-biography/67449/002-6214964-2757258 |
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