Alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett is proving to be one of today’s leading exponents of the instrument preferred by artists such as Charlie Parker, Jackie McLean, Paul Desmond, Benny Carter and Arthur Blythe. One of his greatest accomplishments is that he sounds like none of them. Mr. Garrett has developed a distinctively dark, soulful tone that is instantly recognizable.

Last year he sounded a wake-up call with Pursuance, a wonderfully original concept album of the music of John Coltrane. Songbook presents his current touring quartet in a program of Garrett-penned tunes that accurately represents their seismic live shows. The group consists of Kenny Kirkland and Jeff "Tain" Watts and solid bassist Nat Reeves. This line-up virtually guarantees excellence. Watts is one of the most exciting and stimulating drum artists of the last decade and it is a treat to hear the somewhat under-recorded Kirkland in this great band.

From sweetly haunting ballads and gritty, soulful testimonies to roiling, wailing meltdowns, the tunes draw from hard bop and r‘n’b sources. On tunes like "2 Down & 1 Across" and "Wooden Steps," Garrett takes no prisoners as he blasts to the stratosphere with Watts and Kirkland as the rocket fuel. On "Sing a Song of Song" and "Brother Hubbard" the quartet grooves as Garrett testifies. "She Waits for the New Sun" is a moving ballad.

See this band in performance if you can, then strap yourself into the recliner and relive one of the most amazing jazz units to hit the road in 1997. Songbook literally blazes with the joy of artistic creation. Highly recommended.