Kenny Garrett - Standard of Language

[Aggie87]

Anyone have this yet? Care to share your opinion, review, etc?

[CJ Shearn]

I haven't heard it, sorta wanna pick it up, but maybe I should pick up "Pursuance" first, since I don't have any Garrett. Anyway, anybody know anything about this cat Chris Dave on drums? the AMG review mentions that he's been compared to Tony. That's a very lofty comparison indeed to compare him to someone of Williams' stature.

Edited March 12, 2003 by CJ Shearn

[Jazzmoose]

Well, after hearing the comments of Pharaohrock of all people, I'll probably pick this up and check it out. I loved Pursuance and Songbook, and was "somewhat disappointed" by Simply Said. If this is a return to the approach of the former (or at least the intent), I don't want to miss it.

[Green Dolphin]

Certainly a return to the approach of Songbook,if you liked that, this should do the trick...another "nice" Kenny Garrett set.Read somewhere that some of it comes from the Happy People sessions,no recording date specified,but same studio and engineer.The great Joe Ferla recorded some tracks at Avatar too.Don't know if Chris Dave's worthy of the Tony comparison yet but he sure is busy,Charnett Moffett as huge as ever.Yeah,nice record,sunny day music and we need plenty of that in these dark days,cheers Kenny.

[Alexander]

In fact, some of the tracks (originally intended for "Happy People") were recorded on September 11, 2001. They were left off of that album because they were deemed "inappropriate" for some reason. As if Kenny could have known what was going to happen when he scheduled the date. A lot of albums were released on 9/11 (it was a Tuesday, recall, and that's when new albums are released) and got lost in the post-9/11 shuffle (like Roy Haynes' excellent "Birds of a Feather"). I haven't heard the new Kenny, in any case, but I have it on hold at work and plan on getting it in the next week or so.

[Jazzmoose]

You know, I still haven't picked up that Haynes' disc; thanks for reminding me about it, Alexander!

[Alexander]

You know, I still haven't picked up that Haynes' disc; thanks for reminding me about it, Alexander!

You must get it! It's fantastic! Great line-up too: Haynes, Holland, Hargrove, Garrett, and Dave Kikoski (the first time I'd ever heard him, in fact. I have a couple of his albums now, plus those two BeatleJazz discs he participated in). Real top notch playing all around. Check it out!

Edited March 14, 2003 by Alexander

[Jazzmoose]

Yeah, I heard it once. KCSM played it as their album at noon many months ago, and I decided right then I had to have it, but never picked it up, and it drifted down my list. Time to move it back up!

[Jim Alfredson]

I heard the title track on WCMU the other night. Pretty inventive improvisations. It piqued my curiosity. I can't say I have any Kenny Garrett, although I've always liked what I hear.

[JSngry]

DUDE!

Get BLACK HOPE while it's still in print!

Trust me on this one.

[Jim Alfredson]

I will do that! Thanks for the tip!

Wait a minute... I have no budget for CDs... the wife will kill me...

Oh well... I'll scour the used stores!

[JSngry]

Scour the pots instead - she'll cut you more slack.

[pepe]

Jazzmoose: "comments of Pharaorock of all people"?

I think PR's comments were competent and serious, and apparently he has some understanding of the music. Of course he was a little hotheaded in a previous thread on the BNBB-refugee matter, but you should'nt condemn the man for that, especially after he apologized.

[Rooster_Ties]

A lot of albums were released on 9/11 (it was a Tuesday, recall, and that's when new albums are released) and got lost in the post-9/11 shuffle.

Funny you should mention that. Jason Moran's "Black Stars" came out on that Tuesday (9/11), and I often think of that when listening to the album. (Less so now, but I thought about it plenty in the 6 months after 9/11.)

Actually, I got mine the night before (Monday night, 9/10), from a local store where I know the manager, and by writing a post-dated check. But I'm sure that if I hadn't gotten it Monday night (the night before 9/11), it would have been a month before I would have gotten it. I think my music buying pretty much stopped cold for a month or two after 9/11, if I remember right. (Or maybe it was only a few weeks.)

[jazzhound]

" standard of language" is great. the band knows how to generate alot of musical energy and keep it rolling. "black Hope " is good but this is more now and freer of the typical cliche's and jazz conventions. 5 stars!

[Joe M]

Yes, some of this material was from the Happy People sessions (I think that album was unfarily mailgned. Even if you didn't like the cuts with the vocalist, the Hutcherson tracks, and the rest of the album were all excellent, with lots of great blowing). Now about the 9/11 thing - they recorded more than one albums worth of music on 9/11 and 9/12/01. The press release says nothing about those cuts being "inappropriate for the time" (Happy People was release in spring 02) but rather being inapproriate for the album concept, which was to feature Bobby Hutcherson, that vocalist Jean Norris, and be a little less intense. I think they were going for a bridge between the pop sound of Simply Said and this, more open ended blowing sort of a session, though the Billy Harper tribute was a pretty intense.

Now about the album, it's obvious that Kenny's back and is still on fire. Some journalists still don't get it though, I read one review that said Standard of Langauge was full of smooth jazz / r&b tunes!!! Please, these critics have no clue at all. That said, I still don't think this is as good as Songbook, which is my fav thus far, but that's probably because Vernell Brown is no Kenny Kirkland...