Kenny Garrett – Returns to New Orleans at last

By Geraldine Wyckoff
Contributing Writer
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The last time Kenny Garrett performed in New Orleans was in1986 at the Saenger Theater when he was in trumpet legend Miles Davis’ band. The brilliant Grammy-winning alto saxophonist, who is nominated for best jazz instrumental album for 2013’s stunning CD, Pushing the World Away (Mack Avenue), has never appeared here as leader until now. On Friday, January 17, 2014, Garrett will bring his band to Dillard University’s Lawless Chapel to play the third annual Martin Luther King Jr. Jazz Journey Concert presented by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Garrett says of his much anticipated arrival. “I’m looking forward to it. I’m always traveling the world and to not have been in New Orleans in such a long time I kind of feel that to be able to present the music that we’ve been playing around the world will be great.”

Garrett, a Detroit native now residing in New Jersey, began his professional career at age 18 when he joined the Duke Ellington Orchestra, then led by Mercer payday loans in clinton ia Ellington. The saxophonist, then considered a “young lion,” remained on the jazz radar playing with the likes of Davis, drummer Art Blakey, trumpeter Woody Shaw, saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and other highly regarded artists and released his first album as leader in 1984. At 53, he’s at the pinnacle of his career, blowing with great confidence and individuality, composing extraordinary music and garnering awards and topping jazz polls.

“There were a lot of accolades after Seeds from the Underground – I think that was the turning point,” says Garrett referring to his Grammy-nominated 2012 release. “It feels good because of all the hard work through the years. People are hearing what I’m trying to do.”

It’s clear from his work past and present and perhaps especially on the often explosive Pushing the World Away, that Garrett has an affinity for piano players. It opens with an explosive tribute to his longtime music collaborator, the late great pianist Mulgrew Miller followed by bows to keyboardists Chick Chorea, Chucho Valdez and Donald Brown, who co-produced the release.

regions quick loans “I think it’s always good to reflect on the people whose shoulders we stand on,” offers Garrett who even takes over the piano on one cut, “Brother Brown.” “I love the way they play. Chick and I play to each other over the phone; Chucho and I have the same birthday; I met Mulgrew when we were in the Ellington band and ever since then we’ve been joined at the hip.”

“The piano quiets me down from the storm,” explains Garrett of his penchant for the instrument. “Playing the saxophone is kind of like a storm and I get caught up in it and I have to calm myself down. You can’t go to sleep like that!”

Garrett’s first instrument was an alto saxophone that his father, a tenor player bought for him. “It had a bullet hole in it that had been soldered so I guess he got it from a pawn shop or the street. I used to listen to my father practice and I gravitated toward the case – I loved the smell of the case,” says Garrett with a laugh adding that actually his first horn was a plastic saxophone that he got one Christmas. “Eventually, I just found that it (the alto) was something I could express myself through – it was like my voice.”

For the Martin Luther King weekend show, Garrett is performing with his working band that includes pianist Vernell Brown, percussionist Rudy Bird, bassist Corcoran Holt and drummer McClenty Hunter. He hadn’t actually considered if there was any certain piece that would evoke the memory of the great civil rights leader. Garrett, however, quickly mentioned his latest CD’s title cut, “Pushing the World Away.”

“I think just because of the message and the spirit of the song – it’s a title about getting there,” explains Garrett. “It’s not negative, it’s actually positive. You have to find a way to get through everything to clear the way so you can hear the voices. It brings out positive energy.”

It’s certainly a powerhouse of a song that in its creative adventures offers payday advance in hickory nc an aura of spirituality and sense of humanity that could indeed conjure the vibrancy of Martin Luther King Jr. on the night of the show or any other point in time.

“If they hear the music they’ll get a peep of who I am,” says Garrett of what to expect at the concert where he plans to primarily perform material from Pushing the World Away and Seeds from the Underground. “Musicians, we’re always evolving so where I was yesterday, I’m not sure I’ll be there tomorrow or the next day. What I like to tell people is to come in and enjoy the journey because we just flow.”

Opening the concert at 7 p.m. at Dillard’s Lawless Chapel is singer, songwriter and guitarist Raul Midon. The eclectic artist is a one-man band really as he’s also known to play bongos while playing the guitar – in his hands a tricky, yet altogether musical, feat. The event is free and open to the public.

This article originally published in the January 13, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.