Happy birthday to Kenny Garrett, Abdullah Ibrahim, Chucho Valdés Oficial, and Dave Samuels & we remember National Endowment for the Arts #Jazz Master Yusef Lateef. and Bebo Valdés (father of Chucho). Kenny Garrett is one of the preeminent saxophonists of the jazz scene today.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. Garretts own career as a saxophonist took off when he joined the Duke Ellington Orchestra in 1978, then led by Dukes 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 Minguss 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 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, Brad Mehldau, 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. Garretts music sometimes exhibits Asian influences, 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 Daviss 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. Thats 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. On May 7, 2011, Garrett was presented with an Honorary Doctorate in Music from Berklee College of Music, Boston, Massachusetts. Garrett was the Commencement Speaker.[7] 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 attended. On October 15, 2012, Garrett received a Soul Train Award nomination for his 2012 studio album Seeds from the Underground in the Best Traditional Jazz Artist/Group category.[8] On December 5, 2012, two Grammy nominations for Seeds from the Underground followed in the Best Jazz Instrumental Album and Best Improvised Jazz Solo categories.[9] 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 Garrett won an Echo Award in the Saxophonist of the Year category.[ On September 17, 2013, Garrett released his second studio album for Mack Avenue Records, Pushing the World Away. The album received a Grammy nomination in the Best Jazz Instrumental Album category Kenny Garrett Kenny Kirkland Jeff Tain Watts
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 08:19:35 +0000
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