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Kenny Garrett

Kenny Garrett is an NEA Jazz Master

Kenny Garrett is a jazz saxophonist. He was born in Detroit, MI in 1960. His father was a tenor saxophonist. Kenny's career 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. From there, his career has included 11 albums as a leader and numerous Grammy nominations. During his career, Kenny has played with many jazz greats such as Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, McCoy Tyner, Pharoah Sanders, Brian Blade, 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 recording, Beyond the Wall.


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Festivals Talking

Moers Festival Interviews: Kenny Garrett

Read "Moers Festival Interviews: Kenny Garrett" reviewed by Martin Longley


The release of Kenny Garrett's Sounds From The Ancestors album (Mack Avenue, 2021) has reinvigorated his live performances, as the saxophonist tours heartily with an expanded band that's heavy on the Afro-Latin percussion. In recent times, multi-instrumentalist Garrett has been gigging with this dedicated Sounds From The Ancestors line-up, heavily devoted to the album, but not averse to making key tune selections from past decades. Garrett likes to pair up the instruments, with Melvis Santa and Rudy Bird playing percussion ...

5
Album Review

Chick Corea: The Montreux Years

Read "The Montreux Years" reviewed by Doug Collette


If there is anything more ambitious than curating an extensive, comprehensive collection covering the history of an artist, it is collating selected works which vividly outline a particular timeline or theme. Chick Corea's The Montreux Years is a fine example of the latter; this seventh edition in the archive series devoted to the iconic festival not only reflects the late composer and pianist's technical skills, but also his eclectic stylistic tastes. And that is not to mention his fondness for ...

10
Album Review

Kenny Garrett: Sounds From The Ancestors

Read "Sounds From The Ancestors" reviewed by Ian Patterson


On Sounds from the Ancestors, Kenny Garrett's fifth album for Mack Avenue and his first since Do You Dance! (Mack Avenue 2016), the former saxophonist for both Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and Miles Davis, turns to the past for inspiration. From the Motown and gospel music he was weaned on as a youth growing up in Detroit, to the the hard bop of Blakey and post-bop of John Coltrane , Garrett wears his influences proudly on his sleeve on this ...

24
Interview

Kenny Garrett: The Value of Ancestors

Read "Kenny Garrett: The Value of Ancestors" reviewed by R.J. DeLuke


Saxophonist Kenny Garrett has always respected the music of his predecessors. He knows its importance. He knows the value of the tradition, knowledge and innovation passed on to new generations of musicians. He's recorded, for example, dedications to John Coltrane (Pursuance, Warner Bros., 1996), as well as Joe Henderson and Sonny Rollins (Trilogy, Warner Bros., 1992)). Heck, Garrett, undoubtedly one of the finest alto saxophonists (any style saxophone, for that matter) of his generation, has played with many ...

7
Album Review

Miles Davis: Merci Miles! Live at Vienne

Read "Merci Miles! Live at Vienne" reviewed by Ian Patterson


So great was Miles Davis' legend, so magnetic his aura, that the crowds and the adulation only increased towards the end of his life—a period when he was playing arguably the least progressive music of his career. This double-CD recording of a concert at the Jazz à Vienne Festival from 1991 is a case in point. Ten thousand people packed into the Roman amphitheatre that July evening, while another two-and-a-half thousand who had turned up without tickets were shepherded onto ...

2
Radio & Podcasts

George Mraz & Kenny Garrett

Read "George Mraz & Kenny Garrett" reviewed by Joe Dimino


We begin the 720th Episode with storied saxophonist Kenny Garrett with a track off his 2021 release Sounds from the Ancestors. This episode also features new music from Russell Ferrante, Papo Vazquez, Maria Grand and Yoonmi Choi. We give a fitting send off to a great friend of Neon Jazz and a wonderful friend from childhood in Mr. Bill Denny with a Frank Sinatra tribute. Finally, we say so long and thank you to George Mraz. Dig this new hour ...

3
Album Review

Miles Davis: Merci Miles! Live at Vienne

Read "Merci Miles! Live at Vienne" reviewed by Maurizio Comandini


Miles Davis ha sempre avuto un rapporto speciale con la Francia. Il suo primo tour in Europa, a maggio del 1949, lo vide proprio protagonista a Parigi con il quintetto che lo vedeva co-leader assieme al pianista Tadd Dameron. Miles era poco più che ventenne e subito fu adorato dagli artisti che si radunavano alla corte del filosofo Jean-Paul Sartre per condividere i principi dell'esistenzialismo. Il trombettista rimase colpito dalla bellezza di Juliette Greco che ricambiò appassionatamente e diventò la ...

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5

Event

Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc. To Present Very Special 'Elden Ring' Jazz Music Streaming Event

Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc. To Present Very Special 'Elden Ring' Jazz Music Streaming Event

Source: Asbury PR Agency

Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc. will present a very special Jazz music streaming event – broadcast live from Hollywood and featuring Grammy Award-winning musician Kenny Garrett in collaboration with up-and-coming talent Takuya Kuroda—on December 3, 2022. The “Elden Ring: A Night in the Lands Between” music event will be held at Hollywood, California’s famed Bourbon Room and available via livestream to viewers in the US. Select songs from Elden Ring, including recognizable melodies from the game’s soundtrack, will be performed ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Kenny Garrett

Jazz Musician of the Day: Kenny Garrett

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Kenny Garrett's birthday today!

Kenny Garrett is a jazz saxophonist. He was born in Detroit, MI in 1960. His father was a tenor saxophonist. Kenny's career 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 ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Kenny Garrett

Jazz Musician of the Day: Kenny Garrett

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Kenny Garrett's birthday today!

Kenny Garrett is a jazz saxophonist. He was born in Detroit, MI in 1960. His father was a tenor saxophonist. Kenny's career 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 ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Kenny Garrett

Jazz Musician of the Day: Kenny Garrett

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Kenny Garrett's birthday today!

Kenny Garrett is a jazz saxophonist. He was born in Detroit, MI in 1960. His father was a tenor saxophonist. Kenny's career 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 ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Kenny Garrett

Jazz Musician of the Day: Kenny Garrett

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Kenny Garrett's birthday today!

Kenny Garrett is a jazz saxophonist. He was born in Detroit, MI in 1960. His father was a tenor saxophonist. Kenny\'s career 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... Read more. ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Kenny Garrett

Jazz Musician of the Day: Kenny Garrett

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Kenny Garrett's birthday today!

Kenny Garrett is a jazz saxophonist. He was born in Detroit, MI in 1960. His father was a tenor saxophonist. Kenny\'s career 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... Read more. ...

1

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Kenny Garrett

Jazz Musician of the Day: Kenny Garrett

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Kenny Garrett's birthday today!

Kenny Garrett is a jazz saxophonist. He was born in Detroit, MI in 1960. His father was a tenor saxophonist. Kenny\'s career 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... Read more. ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Kenny Garrett

Jazz Musician of the Day: Kenny Garrett

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Kenny Garrett's birthday today!

Kenny Garrett is a jazz saxophonist. He was born in Detroit, MI in 1960. His father was a tenor saxophonist. Kenny\'s career 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... Read more. ...

1

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Kenny Garrett

Jazz Musician of the Day: Kenny Garrett

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Kenny Garrett's birthday today! Kenny Garrett is a jazz saxophonist. He was born in Detroit, MI in 1960. His father was a tenor saxophonist. Kenny\'s career 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... Read more. ...

1

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Kenny Garrett

Jazz Musician of the Day: Kenny Garrett

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Kenny Garrett's birthday today! Kenny Garrett is a jazz saxophonist. He was born in Detroit, MI in 1960. His father was a tenor saxophonist. Kenny\'s career 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... Read more. ...

John Coltrane
saxophone
Noah Peterson
saxophone
Chip Shelton
saxophone, sopranino
Keith Pray
saxophone
Anna Brooks
saxophone
Albert Rivera
saxophone, tenor
Patrick Cornelius
saxophone, alto
Aaron Liddard
saxophone, tenor
Jarez
saxophone
Sharel Cassity
saxophone
Ricky Hopkins
saxophone
Stéphane Mercier
saxophone, alto
Richard Howell
saxophone
Dimitris Tsakas
saxophone, alto
Tony Exum, Jr
saxophone
Dmitry Tsepilov
saxophone, alto
Damani Phillips
saxophone
F. ter Beek
saxophone
Yuichiro Tokuda
saxophone, alto
Alexander Raichenok
saxophone, alto
Tyrone Birkett
saxophone, alto
Jonathan Suazo
saxophone
Andrew DeNicola
saxophone, tenor
Gabriel Bey
trumpet
Aldo Salvent
saxophone, tenor
Benjamin Deschamps
saxophone, alto
Benjamin Boone
saxophone
Jason Kush
saxophone
Dom Franks
saxophone, tenor
Seba Molnar
saxophone, tenor
Mervin Toussaint
saxophone, alto
Adam Claussen
saxophone
Muhammad Dawjee
saxophone
Adam Nolan
saxophone
Anton Chekurov
saxophone, alto
Sophia Smith
saxophone
Sunhyun Yoo
saxophone, alto
Matthew Alec
saxophone, tenor
David Bode
saxophone
Ikechi Onyenaka
saxophone, alto
Jerry Tabor
guitar
Funk Elastic
band / ensemble / orchestra
Carly Stock
saxophone, alto
Kevin Huang
saxophone, alto
Randy Resnick
guitar, electric
Tombajazz
band / ensemble / orchestra
Bonzo Squad
band / ensemble / orchestra
Orlando Madrid
saxophone, alto

Photos

Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Some Things Never...

Self Produced
2023

buy

Sounds From The...

Mack Avenue Records
2021

buy

Seeds From The...

Mack Avenue Records
2012

buy

Wayne's Thang

From: Sketches of MD: Live At The...
By Kenny Garrett

Videos

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