Jazz Articles about Kenny Kirkland

About Kenny Kirkland

Album Review

Carlos Garnett: Cosmos Nucleus

Read "Cosmos Nucleus" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero

by Vincenzo Roggero
March 27, 2026

Nato a Panama nel 1938, Carlos Garnett è stato sassofonista, compositore e bandleader, noto ai più per la partecipazione al classico On the Corner di Miles Davis, benchè le sue frequentazioni fossero sempre improntate all'eccellenza (Art Blakey, Freddie Hubbard, Andrew Hill, Charles Mingus per citarne alcuni). Sull'onda del Davis elettrico, Garnett incide per la Muse dal 1974 al 1978 ben cinque album avviando una personale rivisitazione del mondo del jazz elettrico con un approccio che mescolava spiritual jazz, ...

Album Review

Carlos Garnett: Cosmos Nucleus

Read "Cosmos Nucleus" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
November 8, 2025

When Cosmos Nucleus first appeared in 1976 on Muse Records, it was the kind of album that seemed to evoke various idioms. It was a bold statement that drew strength from jazz's spiritual core while speaking in the electrified dialect of funk and fusion. Tenor saxophonist Carlos Garnett, a Panamanian-born firebrand who had sharpened his skills alongside Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, and Art Blakey, conceived this project as both a personal revelation and a cosmic exploration. Nearly fifty years later, ...

Radio & Podcasts

The Genius of Kenny Kirkland - the Companion Mixtape

by Ludovico Granvassu
October 17, 2020

Compiling a radio playlist is both incredibly satisfying and quite frustrating. Two hours are so quick to fill and one has to often leave out a great number of tracks that would deserve attention but, for a reason or another (length, similarities to other selection, need for variety and flow etc.), don't find a natural spot in the playlist... To partially remedy this situation, we are starting a 'companion mixtape' series to share more great music, in addition to that ...

Radio & Podcasts

The Genius of Kenny Kirkland - Part 2

by Ludovico Granvassu
October 14, 2020

A classical musical upbringing; a deep knowledge of contemporary classical masters; a career that rapidly saw him develop affinities and life-long collaborations with mainstream and forward-looking jazz musicians, both from the US and from abroad; equally at home with fusion, pop and rock. In sum, Kenny Kirkland epitomized that kind of musician that defies categorization which we tend to admire the most. Here is the second part of our celebration of this legacy. Happy listening! Playlist ...

Radio & Podcasts

The Genius of Kenny Kirkland - Part 1

by Ludovico Granvassu
October 13, 2020

On September 28th, Kenny Kirkland would have turned 65. This week we celebrate his legacy as leader or co-leader, as side-man invited to add power and sophistication to the bands he joined, and as composer, through renditions of his music by peers and contemporary musicians. Among these, pianist Noah Haidu has recently released the first-ever album entirely dedicated to the Kenny Kirkland Songbook, which we feature here and in the second part of the show, which will be online in ...

Book Excerpts

DOCTONE: An oral history of legendary pianist Kenny Kirkland (1955-1998)

by Noah Haidu
September 28, 2020

In chapter 2 of my book Doctone, I interviewed drummer Billy Hart and we discussed his interaction with Kenny Kirkland as he emerged in the 1970's fusion scene, his unique personality, the “Kirklandese" language and Kenny's legacy as one of the great pianists and composers in this music Noah Haidu: What were your first impressions of Kenny? Billy Hart: I don't remember the exact first time I met him. Because of our age difference, I saw ...

Extended Analysis

Miroslav Vitous Group

by John Kelman
February 25, 2014

With the ongoing demand for historic titles to see first-time CD issue, ECM has raised the ante even further with Re:solutions: seven classic recordings, released on CD (four available for the first time and one previously only available for a limited time in Japan), vinyl and high resolution digital formats. They're all important, but 1981's Miroslav Vitous Group stands out as one of the most significant, completing, as it does—and more than three decades after the fact—the Czech bassist's early ...