Kenny Garrett

[montg]

Here are some excerpts from the nonesuch website describing Garrett's new CD (due next month). The band is a killer lineup--Brian Blade Mulgrew Miller, Pharoah Sanders, Bobby Hutcherson, and Robert Hurst-- It'll be interesting to see how the Chinese instrumentation works out.

nonesuch

Nonesuch releases its first album from Kenny Garrett, Beyond the Wall, on August 29, 2006. The CD reflects the saxophonist/composer’s long-time fascination with the culture, music, and spirituality of China. Garrett recorded Beyond the Wall following his first, long-anticipated trip to mainland China last year. To bring the project to life, Garrett assembled a cross-cultural group of world-class musicians that includes saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, pianist Mulgrew Miller, drummer Brian Blade, and bassist Robert Hurst, III along with harp, violin, cello, percussion, and the two-string Chinese ehru.

On Beyond the Wall Garrett has mixed Chinese instrumentation with Western strings, creating an amalgam of musical styles, which hang together effortlessly. Some of the tracks on Beyond the Wall relate specifically to his travels: the opening cut “Calling,” which serves as a sort of overture, represents Garrett’s desire to explore the culture, music, and customs of China; “Qing Wen” reflects his initial feelings of being an outsider in a place he’s yearning to understand. “‘Qing Wen’ [pronounced chin-win] means ‘May I,’” Garrett explains, “but there’s a more spiritual meaning that I haven’t been able to articulate yet. The simple act putting those words into a two-note melody affects their meaning. You can feel it.” “Gworka” is a cross-cultural experiment, which adapts a slavery-era call-and-response cadence from Guadeloupe. “The foundation is African,” says Garrett, “but any time you’re dealing with the Pentatonic scale, you’re dealing with the Chinese overtone.”

Other songs on Beyond the Wall include “Realization (Marching Towards The Light),” on which Kenny sampled the Tibetan Monk chant “TKTK” from Tibet: The Heart of Dharma, and “Gwoka,” which co-opts a slavery-era call and response cadence from Guadeloupe. “Tsunami Song” features the expanded ensemble with harp, violin, cello, percussion, and erhu.

Though Garrett has been gigging with Sanders for some time, Beyond The Wall marks the first time they’ve worked together in the studio. Says Garrett, “I speak to Pharoah on a regular basis and we are friends, but I still remind myself that his friendship is a blessing. Pharoah stood on the bandstand with John Coltrane. There’s a lot of history in his playing that I try to absorb...a lot of things he does on his horn that are very earthy. Our playing styles are similar because we come from the same elements and go to the same places. It’s a place you can’t just get to automatically. It’s a feeling.”

Garrett first played with Hutcherson on the vibe and marimba master’s 1999 Skyline. He then composed “Conversations With Hutcherson” for his own album from the same year, Simply Said, and later invited Hutcherson to perform with him on his 2002 Happy People disc. Beyond The Wall was also a reunion of sorts for Hutcherson and Sanders; it had been 25 years since they’d officially recorded together on Sanders’ 1981 double LP, Rejoice. “Bobby and Pharoah are my heroes,” Garrett confesses. “I put them together so I could be right in the middle!

[CJ Shearn]

wow, this sounds great! The fusion of Chinese instrumentation with a jazz group is pretty hip. I'm sure there are other musicians who have integrated such a sound, but my familiarity with it is small, only the Chinese opera type thing with Indonesian gamelan on PMG's "Imaginary Day"comes closest for me. The vocals remind me a little bit of "A New Perspective". I am definitely picking this up!

Edited July 29, 2006 by CJ Shearn

[Guy Berger]

wow, this sounds great! The fusion of Chinese instrumentation with a jazz group is pretty hip. I'm sure there are other musicians who have integrated such a sound,

Check out Jon Jang.

Guy

[king ubu]

Max Roach's Bejing Trio - saw them live in 2001 or 2002 and that was one astonishing concert. Totally free, open music, going places, and Roach even at this age was still so great, so agile (not only from a technical point of view, but also from musicianship, reaction, empathy etc.)

[CJ Shearn]

thanks for the tip Guy

[etherbored]

sound samples here

[fomafomic65]

wow, this sounds great! The fusion of Chinese instrumentation with a jazz group is pretty hip. I'm sure there are other musicians who have integrated such a sound,

Check out Jon Jang.

Guy

Agree.

I like this pianist's Two Flowers On A Stem (if I remember the title correctly). Another really strong "oriental fusion" jazz player is baritonist Fred Ho (or Houn). Check his "The Underground Railroad To My Heart", "We Refuse To Be Used And Abused", "Tomorrow Is Now". A sure Mingus influence is very present in these american/oriental musicians

Edited August 2, 2006 by ArmandoPeraza

[Kari S]

Sounds cool...