Bringing his sweet sound to town
The list of musicians who have hired alto sax man Kenny Garrett includes some mighty big names: Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Sting, Peter Gabriel and hip-hop star Guru.
These musical connections have made Garrett, who comes to Whitworth College on Saturday, well-known even in the rock and pop world.
Yet it is his own solo work that has made him one of the most respected saxophonists in jazz circles.
“Kenny has such enormous technical ability on the saxophone; he can play anything he hears,” said Whitworth Jazz Ensemble director Dan Keberle in a press release.
“His great technique is coupled with very strong musicianship – he is one of the most creative individuals in jazz and he expresses his creativity to the fullest.”
That’s one reason that he won the 2002 Down Beat magazine reader’s poll for best alto sax player, knocking off longtime winner Phil Woods.
The best place to hear Garrett’s talent is on his eight Warner Brothers albums, including the most recent, “Standard of Language.”
“I’m working on setting what the standard should be for my music,” said Garrett, in a biography on his Web site. “On this album we stretched – without going too far – to capture the energy we have live on stage.”
Garrett was born in Detroit into a musical family; his father was a tenor sax player. In 1978, at age 18, he was hired by the Duke Ellington Orchestra. He later moved to New York and played with the Mel Lewis Orchestra and the Dannie Richmond Quintet.
He began working with Miles Davis in 1986, and appeared on four Davis albums.
“Miles’ genius was getting the best out of musicians, but not controlling them,” said Garrett, in his press biography. “Letting them be free, but also getting what he wanted from them.”
In Saturday’s concert, Garrett will perform a number of his original compositions, arranged by Keberle for jazz band, as well as several jazz standards.
He’ll be accompanied by the Whitworth Jazz Ensemble, which has won first place five times in the past nine years at the annual Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival.
Garrett also will conduct a free clinic for interested musicians on Friday at 5:15 p.m. in Whitworth’s Music Recital Hall. For information about the concert or clinic, call 777-3280.