Kenny Garrett

All Music Guide:

Although saxophonist, bandleader, and composer Kenny Garrett never had the benefit of a college education, that hasn't hurt his career as a jazz musician one bit. Garrett has released a number of critically acclaimed albums for the Warner Bros. label and, prior to the birth of his recording career, earned his master's degree in the jazz clubs in and around his native Detroit. Garrett's father was a carpenter who played tenor saxophone as an avocation. He got his first saxophone as an eight-year-old and quickly learned the G scale, thanks to his father. He studied with trumpeter Marcus Belgrave and began performing with Mercer Ellington's band before he had finished high school. His first few professional shows were with Detroit area musicians Belgrave and pianist Geri Allen. He felt he had arrived as a saxophonist when he was asked to join the Duke Ellington Orchestra under the direction of Mercer Ellington. He skipped college and went on the road with the band for the summer and ended up staying with them for three and a half years.

Garrett was raised in the Detroit jazz scene of the 1970s, which wasn't nearly as vibrant as it had been a decade earlier. In high school, he had the good fortune to play with organist Lyman Woodard locally in Detroit, but recalls having to travel an hour or two from home to maintain his status as a working musician. He was encouraged to begin writing his own compositions by various members of Ellington's band, and began doing so a short time later. Aside from alto and soprano saxes, Garrett also uses the piano to compose. Prior to his rise under his own name as a bandleader and composer, Garrett had the opportunity to perform and record with Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, and the aforementioned Ellington orchestra.

In 1982, he relocated to New York City, the jazz capital of the world. Garrett made his recording debut with Introducing Kenny Garrett on the Criss Cross label in 1984 and then jumped to Atlantic Records, a major label which, at that time, was interested in rebuilding its once glorious jazz legacy. He recorded two notable albums for Atlantic, Prisoner of Love and African Exchange Student. He began recording for Warner Bros. in 1992, when he released his stunning, critically praised Black Hope. He followed up in 1995 with Triology, and recorded Pursuance: The Music of John Coltrane in 1996. He released Songbook, his first album made up entirely of his own compositions, in 1997.

Since then, his other releases have included Simply Said, Happy People, and Standard of Language, all for Warner Bros.; 2006's Grammy-nominated Beyond the Wall on Nonesuch; and the 2008 live outing (recorded at N.Y.C.'s Iridium club) Sketches of MD, issued by Detroit's Mack Avenue label. In addition, Garrett joined the all-star lineup of the Five Peace Band -- spearheaded by keyboardist Chick Corea and guitarist John McLaughlin and also featuring bassist Christian McBride and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta -- for touring and recording during the late 2000s; the group's Five Peace Band: Live CD (Concord, 2009) won the Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Album in January 2010. Garrett has proven to be a most versatile player, equally at home playing classic blues and rhythm & blues as he is interpreting classic jazz compositions and even moving in a fusion direction. As a composer himself, his full potential may still lie ahead, with more bright moments in the offing in the recording studio and on-stage for this talented arranger, composer, musician, and bandleader. Garrett recorded the all original Seeds from the Underground with his own group -- bassist Nat Reeves and Venezuelan pianist Benito Gonzalez -- and utilized the talents of drummer Ronald Bruner from Detroit. The album was issued in the spring of 2012.

Wikipedia:

Kenny Garrett (born October 9, 1960) is a Grammy Award-winning American post bop jazz saxophonist and flautist who gained fame in his youth as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and of Miles Davis's band. He has since pursued a critically acclaimed solo career. Most recently he joined a supergroup of jazz musicians, the Five Peace Band.

Biography [edit]

Kenny Garrett was born in Detroit, Michigan, on October 9, 1960; he is a 1978 graduate of Mackenzie High School. His father was a carpenter who played tenor saxophone as a hobby. Garrett's own career as a saxophonist took off when he joined the Duke Ellington Orchestra in 1978, then led by Duke's son, Mercer Ellington. Three years later he played in the Mel Lewis Orchestra, playing the music of Thad Jones, and also the Dannie Richmond Quartet, focusing on Charles Mingus's music.

In 1984, he recorded his first album as a bandleader, Introducing Kenny Garrett, on the CrissCross label. He then recorded two albums with Atlantic Records: Prisoner of Love and African Exchange Student. Garrett signed to the Warner Bros. Records label, and beginning with Black Hope, in 1992, he has continued to record with them. Among his notable recordings on Warner Bros. are Pursuance: The Music of John Coltrane, recorded in 1996, and Songbook, his first album made up entirely of his own compositions, recorded in 1997 and nominated for a Grammy Award. During his career, Garrett has performed and recorded with many jazz greats such as Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, McCoy Tyner, Pharoah Sanders, Brian Blade, Marcus Miller, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Herbie Hancock, Bobby Hutcherson, Ron Carter, Elvin Jones, and Mulgrew Miller. Garrett's music sometimes exhibits Asian influence, an aspect which is especially prevalent in his 2006 Grammy-nominated recording, Beyond the Wall.

While Garrett is best known in many circles for the five years he spent playing with Miles Davis during Miles' electric period, he states that he has become accustomed to the association:

"I was in Miles' band for about five years. I think that tag will always be there. That is five years of my life. That's the only musical situation that I was there longer than a year. It was a good five years. I have gotten used to that. Some people became aware of me through Miles and then they would come to my concerts. I think that is part of my history and I am proud of that. I am still trying to carve out my own name and my own music. I just look at it as a part of history and it is going to be there. Every time they mention Kenny Garrett, there will probably be some association with Miles Davis, but at the same time, when they mention Herbie Hancock, they always mention Miles Davis, or Wayne Shorter. You get used to it after a while." (allaboutjazz.com)

Garrett's live album Sketches of MD: Live at the Iridium, featuring Pharoah Sanders, was released on September 23, 2008. On his website, KennyGarrett.com, he stated that his current band at the time consisted of electric bass and organ.

Garrett performed in a world tour, 2008-2009 with Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Christian McBride and Brian Blade/Vinnie Colaiuta as the "Five Peace Band". The CD "Five Peace Band - Live" won a GRAMMY Award on January 31, 2010.

On May 7, 2011, Kenny Garrett was presented an Honorary Doctorate in Music Degree from Berklee College of Music, Boston, Massachusetts. Garrett was the Commencement Speaker. There were 908 graduates - the largest graduating class in Berklee history. The commencement ceremony took place at the Agganis Arena (Boston University). Four thousand people were in attendance.

On October 15, 2012, Kenny Garrett received a Soul Train Award nomination for his 2012 studio album Seeds from the Underground in Best Traditional Jazz Artist/Group category. On December 5, 2012, two Grammy nominations for Seeds from the Underground followed in Best Jazz Instrumental Album and Best Improvised Jazz Solo categories. On December 11, 2012, Seeds From The Underground received a NAACP Image Award nomination in the Outstanding Jazz Album category. On April 5, 2013, Mack Avenue Records announced that Kenny Garrett won an Echo Award in the Saxophonist of the Year category.

Awards & Nominations [edit]

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