Home » Jazz Articles » Live Review » Kenny Garrett Live: Combustion

179

Kenny Garrett Live: Combustion

By

Sign in to view read count
Kenny Garrett no longer deserves to be dubbed “The Guy Who Worked with Miles.” He has proven his musical autonomy. Garrett is now empowered to do for his young band what Miles Davis did for him.

If Davis was watching, he smiled widely as the Kenny Garrett Quartet sizzled 70 people for 65 minutes at Vancouver’s west side Jazz Cellar (a classy place) on May 12. Davis would greatly approve of his former band mate’s ascension to a level of jazz musicianship that leaves people’s mouths ajar.

As he did with his newly released Warner album, Standard of Language , Kenny Garrett came out smoking, almost to the excess of tolerance. He unleashed a 25 minute version of “XYZ” that left little structural room for solos, and it sounded like four soloists rampaging to their musical points. It was a telling irony: to so stretch a song live that was abbreviated on record.

This is great if you appreciate jazz the way Garrett does. For the less developed sensibility, much of the evening’s first set might have sounded like a collage of noise.

The divergent musical personalities of Garrett’s band drove this live performance to an admirable level of technical accomplishment. Throughout, pianist Vernell Brown placed his measured chording in contrast to Garrett’s ranging sax work (although Brown ranged nicely himself). Bassist Chris Funn wore little facial expression but he explored the dynamism of every fret, whether by ensemble or solo. Occasionally, he nodded knowingly to the other players.

Drummers like Ronald Bruner do not come along very often. Bruner’s technical mastery and his youthful ambition so empowered the quartet that the Vancouver faithful howled at his aural conclusions. His strokes and accents combined for stunning effect, sometimes sounding like ecstatic piston fire. One can only shake a head, and grin, when a drummer this good strides off a stage into the human world.

Kenny Garrett’s stage performance shows us how much he learned from Miles Davis.

Garrett’s too cool persona on stage, however, is not his mentor’s mythic presence. The crowd clapped and most expressed appreciation with the funky, rhythmic conclusion to the set, but the vast majority in this audience seemed slightly puzzled as waves of musical furore passed. Garrett urged on the crowd by calling for applause as many as three times. If you really are too cool, the music itself inspires critics to offer credit to the artist.

This may not be entirely Garrett’s fault. It is hard to say you love something if you may not understand it. On this night, few heads bobbed in time with what was happening on stage until the end.

No matter how you heard it, jazz is greatly refreshed when artists of Kenny Garrett’s supreme calibre travel to intimate venues to wail for a few dozen patrons. The jazz genre is alive and well. Garrett now proceeds with solo work (with Herbie Hancock, Roy Haynes and Roy Hargove) before reconvening his quartet for engagements in Europe this summer.

Kenny Garrett Web site:
www.kennygarrett.com

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Jazz article: The Cookers at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley
Jazz article: Julian Lage At Higher Ground

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.