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All Music Guide:
An intense tenor soloist, Carlos Garnett seemed to largely disappear from jazz after the late '70s, but after a ten year sabbatical, he re-emerged playing better than ever. He grew up in Panama, started playing tenor in 1957, and early on performed calypso and Latin music. In 1962, Garnett moved to New York, working with rock groups and struggling a bit, but listening closely to the free jazz saxophonists. He gained some recognition for his work with Freddie Hubbard (1968-1969), Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (1969-1970), and Charles Mingus, and had an important stint with Miles Davis in 1972. Garnett also worked with Jack McDuff, Andrew Hill, Gary Bartz, and Norman Connors during the era and recorded five albums of his own for Muse during 1974-1977 that ranged from exploratory music to attempts at commercialism. Carlos Garnett was musically inactive during much of the 1980s, but started a comeback in 1991. In 1996, he made one of his finest albums (Fuego en Mi Alma, for the HighNote label) in a style little changed since the '70s.
Wikipedia:
Carlos Garnett (born December 1, 1938) is a Panamanian-American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and jazz group leader.
Garnett was born on December 1, 1938, in Red Tank, Panama Canal Zone. He became interested in jazz music after hearing Louis Jordan's and James Moody's music in film shorts. He taught himself to play the saxophone as a teenager and played with soldiers from the nearby United States Army base. In 1957 he started playing in calypso and Latin music groups.
After moving to New York in 1962 Garnett played in a rock 'n' roll group led by Leo Price. Around this time he also started learning music theory, being self-taught and having always played by ear. Jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard hired Garnett in 1968 and introduced him to many New York musicians. Garnett's first recording was Hubbard's 1969 album A Soul Experiment, which contained two original compositions by him.
In the late 1960s and early 1970 Garnett also played with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Charles Mingus and Miles Davis. He also led his own group called the Universal Black Force. His group recorded five albums between 1974 and 1977. In 1982 Garnett, suffering from depression and drug abuse, experienced a spiritual awakening and stopped playing music for years. He began performing again in 1991.
Garnett's new group has released the albums Fuego en mi alma (1996), Under Nubian Skies (1999) and Moon Shadow (2001). In 2000 he moved back to Panama, where he continues to perform actively.
Garnett has assumed the role of Maestro, "Teacher", to pass on to the next generation of young musicians in Panama, the music of jazz. As he continues to perform, he has performed at three (3) editions of the annual Panama Jazz Festival. The 9th Annual Panama Jazz Festival in 2012, organized by Panamanian pianist Danilo Perez, was dedicated to Carlos Garnett in recognition of his contribution to music.
