Category: releases

Categories
Aaron Diehl jazz Mack Avenue Records music new releases releases United States

Pianist Aaron Diehl debuts project on July 31 on Mack Avenue Records

In fashion circles, the adjective “bespoke” denotes custom-made suits and shirts and signifies the person who designs and constructs them. On The Bespoke Man’s Narrative, his brilliant Mack Avenue Records debut, pianist Aaron Diehl extrapolates this notion to matters of musical invention.
“The idea for the metaphor was that the composition and concept were specifically for these musicians,” Diehl says in a news release, referring to his working quartet of 30-ish all-stars – vibraphonist (and Mack Avenue artist) Warren Wolf, bassist David Wong and drummer Rodney Green – that interprets the five originals and five arrangements comprising the program. “There’s a sequence, an arc, a beginning, middle and end. Each piece has something to do with my musical development.”
The project gestated in April of 2011 in Indianapolis after Diehl, 26, earned first place in the rigorous Cole Porter Fellowship in Jazz Competition of the American Pianists Association. The award garnered him $50,000 in career support and an opportunity to record with Mack Avenue Records.
“I thought it would be wise to use the opportunity to document this ensemble,” Diehl states. “I decided to compose and arrange music in line with our own sound and conception, while using the strategies of bandleaders like John Lewis and Duke Ellington, who developed their music in line with the abilities of their personnel.”
Diehl is singularly positioned within his generation to apply these lessons to a contemporary context. An alumnus of Todd Stoll’s Columbus (Ohio) Youth Jazz Orchestra, which specializes in performing a broad timeline of Ellington’s music, he spent the last six months of his sophomore year at Juilliard – he was 19 at the time – helping pianist John Lewis’ widow, Mirjana, to organize her late husband’s archive of manuscripts, scores, reel-to-reel tapes and recordings. Already intimate with the stride piano canon from his teens, Diehl applied the quality time with Lewis’ Bach-to-blues oeuvre towards finding a conceptual space in which to coalesce his varied interests.
This quartet initially took shape in 2008 – then with drummer Quincy Davis – when Diehl was asked to play a concert of Lewis’ music. By an April 2010 performance of this repertoire at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Rodney Green had assumed the drum chair.
“Warren is a virtuoso,” Diehl says of his fellow Mack Avenue artist. “There couldn’t be anyone more appropriate to play the part of Milt Jackson. David is a fluid, precise player with a lot of finesse and a strong bow, who comes straight out of the bebop-based approaches of Percy Heath and Paul Chambers. Mrs. Lewis said that John would have loved him.
Aaron Diehl
Photo Credit: John Abbott
“I hadn’t realized it, but Rodney listened a lot to Connie Kay, and told me that one reason he wanted to be part of this project was to get more inside Connie’s approach.”

In preparing this program of creative refraction of the aforementioned oeuvres, Diehl focused on nurturing an ensemble sound. “Rather than feature just my piano playing, I like to involve everybody in the process,” he says. “Sharing the wealth allows for more musical possibilities.”
For all his collective orientation, Diehl commands attention at the piano. Addressing a Fazioli F-228 grand piano, he showcases a nuanced touch, a comfort zone with tempos ranging from rubato to brisk, encyclopedic harmonic knowledge, an abiding sense of blues expression and a will – when necessary – to swing. He’s assimilated vocabulary across the timeline, finding fresh, idiomatic ways to mix-and-match ideas drawn from a diverse cohort including, among others, Lewis, Ellington, Ahmad Jamal, Marcus Roberts and Kenny Kirkland. As he puts it, “My overall goal is trying to figure out how to connect all the language to make an interesting and engaging performance, and also develop my own voice. Why limit yourself to just playing something here and something there? It’s all gold.”


Categories
Carmen Intorre For the Soul jazz music new releases Random Act Records releases United States

Drummer/percussionist Carmen Intorre debuts first project ‘For the Soul’ on May 22

Drummer/percussionist Carmen Intorre is pairing up with producer Bob Belden on his debut album For The Soul (Random Act Records); the organ-based session covers a wide range of musical stylings from Stevie Wonder and Steely Dan to Chick Corea and Weather Report. Intorre is joined byJohn Hart on guitar, Jon Irabagon on alto and tenor sax, and Pat Bianchi and Joey DeFrancesco- two of the world’s most formidable jazz organists. The album swings within the tradition while expanding upon the vocabulary and boundaries of the idiom.
Currently, Intorre performs with legendary jazz guitarist Pat Martino, touring extensively throughout the world with the guitarist’s organ trio. He is always eager to uncover the latest information about music and drumming and to share that information with others. 

“This is my job. I have to give back what I was given a chance to do,” Intorre said in a news release. “Music is an opportunity for me to give upmy soul, while in the process connecting with the audiences’ souls as well. I want the musicians on the bandstand and the members in the audience to feel uplifted after a performance, to feel great about themselves through the experience that they encountered. That is what For The Soul is all about.”
Born in Buffalo, NY, Carmen Intorre developed an early interest in music and began playing drums at age five. A graduate of The Institute for Jazz Studies at the Juilliard School, he has performed and recorded with numerous musicians such as George Benson, Larry Coryell, Wynton Marsalis, Monty Alexander, George Coleman, Eric Alexander, George Cables, Benny Golson, Richie Cole, Joe Locke, Lew Tabackin, Bobby Watson, Ira Sullivan, Bobby Watson, and many others.
A 2011 Grammy nominee for his performance on the critically acclaimed album by Joey DeFrancesco entitled Never Can Say Goodbye: The Music of Michael Jackson, Intorre also had the pleasure of performing alongside DeFrancesco and Dr. Lonnie Smith on the PBS show Legends of Jazz, hosted by Ramsey Lewis. 

“Carmen is one of my favorite drummers; he has a very wide groove and strong beat, and most of all he swings his ass off! I love him!” says DeFrancesco.
Perhaps one word best describes Carmen Intorre and his music: Joy. Reminiscent of Billy Higgins, Intorre brings a palpable swing and drive to virtually all the tracks, making this a palatable musical feast “for the soul.”


Categories
InterStatic Jacob Young Jarle Vespestad jazz music Oslo RareNoiseRecords releases Roy Powell United States world world jazz

Jazz trio to release self-titled ‘InterStatic’ on June 12

The genre-defying triumvirate of adept pianist, organist, and composer Roy Powell, guitarist Jacob Young and drummer Jarle Vespestad comes out blazing with a vengeance on InterStatic, their self-titled RareNoiseRecords debut and second release overall, following their ambitious 2011 outing, Anthem. Seamlessly combining elements of jazz, experimental, ambient and rock, the scintillating power trio stretches in typically intense fashion, extending the organ trio tradition established by Jimmy Smith and taken to realms beyond on such groundbreaking recordings as Tony Williams Lifetime’s Emergency! (with Larry Young and John McLaughlin) and John Abercrombie’s Timeless (with Jan Hammer and Jack DeJohnette).
“I love all the organ players who have redefined the instrument and kept it relevant to successive generations,” says Hammond B-3 maestro Powell, who contributes six compositions on InterStatic in a news release. “That includes modern day players like Larry Goldings and Sam Yahel. I´m also very influenced by the sound of pipe organ music such as that of Olivier Messiaen, which I find to be almost an out of body listening experience.” Powell also performed on two recent RareNoiseRecords releases, bassist Lorenzo Feliciati’s Frequent Flyer and Naked Truth’s Shizaru.
With the remarkably flexible drummer Jarle Vespestad (known for his work with Tord Gustavsen, Silje Nergaard, Supersilent, and Farmers Market) alternating between deliberate, big-as-a-house backbeats to surging swing grooves to dreamy rubato playing, and Nordic guitar star Jacob Young summing up myriad tones and textures on his heavily-effected axe, Powell underscores with velvety B-3 cushions while layering on affecting organ melodies and Moog synth solos throughout this evocative collection.
Says Powell, a British émigré living in Oslo, “The music on InterStatic is a change in direction from Anthem in the sense that we were feeling our way on the first one and now we have found it. On this new recording we deliberately wanted to reference (Norwegian guitarist) Terje Rypdal and a general early ECM influence together with more modern bands like Air, Washed Out and post-punk bands like The Durutti Column. In other words, a mix of influences both old and new.”
Adds Young, “InterStatic has a stronger sense of direction than our previous album Anthem had, it has more of an innovative touch than traditional. Much of this has to do with concrete discussions we had about the musical direction we wanted to explore when rehearsing. Essentially, we got bored with making another album that sounded like something we had either done before or heard before. We wanted to get more out and away from the typical jazz scene in Norway and needed a new calling card.”
Powell describes the group’s mission statement on InterStatic: “To create an instrumental organ-guitar-drums band reflecting modern preoccupations, reflecting contemporary musicians’ diverse influences regardless of genre boundaries.”

Categories
contemporary jazz jazz Mexico Mole music RareNoiseRecords releases United States world

Jazz quartet Mole to release ‘What’s the Meaning?’ on RareNoiseRecords label on May 15

It was nearly eight years ago that Mexican born pianist-composer Mark Aanderud joined forces with Argentinian drummer Hernan Hecht. Their chemistry was immediate and natural. 

“The first things we did were all related to free music, with electronic elements or not, but always with the idea of creating songs or forms in the moment,” says Aanderud in a news release. “We do have some incredible magic going on, inasmuch as we can play concerts or record without ever speaking of music, and never repeating ideas or stifling development. This actually hasn’t changed over the years.” 
From their initial encounter, the two kindred spirits progressed to the formation of Mole (pronounced Mo-Lay), an exhilarating quartet that is breaking new ground in its approach to contemporary jazz with their auspicious RareNoiseRecords debut, What’s The Meaning?.

“I think this project is an inevitable spot in my career,” says Hecht, who is also a member of the RareNoiseRecords band Brainkiller. “It is our version of contemporary jazz, the sum of all the things we’ve heard and experienced in our lives related to jazz and everything else we have acquired; sounds of other music, other arts, the sense of song. It’s a freedom of expression, not determined by traditional jazz or directly from any line of traditional language learning. I am interested in music that is broad, not determined by a style.”
Though both Aanderud and Hecht would cringe at the prospect of being labeled a fusion band, Moledoes indeed fuse a variety of music styles, from jazz and rock to classical, funk and hip-hop. 

“I don’t really like the fusion concept, but of course with all the groove and electronic elements in our music it’s natural to think it sounds like fusion a little bit,” says Aanderud. “But I see us more in the same line as groups like Phronesis, e.s.t. and Kurt Rosenwinkel and in terms of electronic music, groups like Sigur Rós, Massive Attack and Radiohead.”
After a few years of exploring their chemistry together, Aanderud and Hecht began inviting other musicians into their inner circle to see how it affected their music.

 “We always considered the possibility of working with more people to achieve different characters, sounds and experience new artistic possibilities,” says Hecht. “So I instigated tours and recordings with Tim Berne, Rick Parker, Eli Degibri, Jonathan Kreisberg, Marco Renteria, Aaron Cruz and many more musicians, always with the desire of novelty.”
For their super-charged What’s the Meaning?, Aanderud and Hecht recruited New York guitarist David Gilmore, whose impressive list of credits includes tours and recordings with the likes of Wayne Shorter, Trilok Gurtu, Don Byron and Steve Coleman’s Five Elements.

“When we decided to tour with someone else from New York, to have new sounds and pressure to work with someone already recognized internationally, someone from which to learn with a shared philosophy and professionalism, we automatically thought of David Gilmore,” says Hecht.
Adds Aanderud, “There is probably no other guitarist as diverse in groove, time and the free approach as him. So it was easy to know he was the one we were looking for.”
Rounding out the quartet is Mexican upright bassist Jorge “Luri” Molina, whom Aanderud met years ago in their native country. 

“I’ve known Luri since I started playing jazz music,” says the keyboardist who is currently based in Prague. “We were still kids and we were starting to dig this music. He was a very straight-ahead player but he became one of the most charismatic and strong rhythm players I know, and an incredible musician who just understands any musical situation.”

Categories
drummer jazz music performances Ralph Peterson releases The Duality Perspective United States

Drummer/composer Ralph Peterson marks birthday with release of “The Duality Perspective” on June 19 on Onyx Music

The painting by Edward LaRose that graces the cover of The Duality Perspective, drummer/composer Ralph Peterson‘s new release and 16th as a leader, is a dynamic illustration of the album’s driving principles. The yin yang symbol in the background represents the balance between the two ensembles that appear on the record, the young, next-generation Fo’tet and the more established Sextet. The names of the members of each group are spelled out on the branches of a tree, the Sextet side fully flowering while the Fo’tet side is still budding; the tree’s roots are inscribed with the names of elders and mentors including Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, and Bill Fielder.
At the center of all of this is a portrait of Peterson himself, the locus of the enterprise both musically and spiritually. It is Peterson that nurtures this living, growing entity so that buds will bloom, branches will grow and thrive, and roots will delve ever deeper and stronger.
The Duality Perspective thus embodies youth and maturity, past; past, present and future; and diverse stylistic approaches based on a common language. In a bit of word association, Peterson characterizes the young, hungry Fo’tet as “dry ice, so cold it’ll burn you,” and the all-star Sextet as “richly rooted, one foot in the tradition, the other foot in tomorrow.” But as he acknowledges, “Each has a distinct sound and approach, yet they have a commonality at the core.”
Of course, as Peterson is quick to point out, there are more than two sides to his musical identity. (“Later on there might be a record called The Multiplicity Perspective,” he muses.) Besides his incomparable talent behind the drumkit, which has led to collaborations with the likes of Terence Blanchard, Branford Marsalis, David Murray, Roy Hargrove, Jon Faddis, Michael Brecker, Steve Coleman and Betty Carter over a nearly thirty-year career – not to mention being hand-picked by Art Blakey as the second drummer in the legendary bandleader’s Jazz Messenger Big Band until Blakey’s 1990 death – Peterson is an agile trumpeter and a respected educator.
Celebrating Peterson’s 50th birthday, The Duality Perspective is the veteran drummer’s 16th album as a leader and the second release on his own Onyx Music label, following last year’s acclaimed Outer Reaches. Turning 50, Peterson says, has been accompanied by some positive adjustments in his lifestyle. 

“These changes helped me to be the best person I can be,” he says in a news release, “and the best person will always produce the best music. I think this is one of my best records because it very much says where I am right now.”
The importance of unifying distinct elements into a distinctive whole springs directly from Peterson’s martial arts training. A third-degree black belt and Buddhist, Peterson has studied tae kwon do on and off for more than two decades. 

“As I continue my martial arts training,” he says, “Asian philosophical concepts like yin and yang become more important to me and I’m able to fuse them back into my other artistry, my music art. It also helps me stay physically fit, so I can play with the vigor of my youth but add to it the maturity and wisdom I’ve gotten through my experiences.”

The growth and replenishment of the album cover’s family tree is vividly evidenced by the current membership of Peterson’s Sextet, most of whom were in the budding stage themselves when Peterson began working with them. Trumpeter Sean Jones was a student at Rutgers University, who then introduced Peterson to saxophonist Tia Fuller; saxophonist Walter Smith III was a student in one of Peterson’s clinics at Berklee prior to his professorship; the drummer taught bassist Luques Curtis and played in the senior recital of his brother, pianist Zaccai Curtis.

Categories
ACT Music e.s.t. Esbjorn Svensson Trio Europe jazz jazz trio music releases Scandinavia United States world

Acclaimed e.s.t./Esbjorn Svensson Trio releases new posthumous studio album, “301,” on May 8

According to a recent news release, ACT Music announces the release of 301, a full album of previously unheard material by e.s.t. (Esbjörn Svensson Trio), available on May 8. The album is a follow up to e.s.t.‘s 2008 effort, Leucocyte, and is the group’s second album following pianist Esbjörn Svensson‘s tragic death (prior to Leucocyte‘s release). Heralded as one of the most exciting jazz bands of the decade, the seven-track album features Svensson with his longtime band mates, drummer Magnus Öström and bassist Dan Berglund.


In January 2007, e.s.t. was on tour in Asia and Australia performing shows in Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama, Jakarta, Perth and Sydney. It was their third tour of Japan and their second time on the continent; and the venues and audiences had become noticeably bigger. Only a few weeks before, they had finished their triumphant tour of Germany, including a legendary performance in Hamberg which resulted in Live in Hamburg (ACT, 2007), awarded “Album of the Decade” by the London Times. It was undoubtedly the prime time for the style-defining jazz band of the 2000s.


The group decided to rent the famous “Studio 301” in Sydney for their off-days in the middle of the Australian tour and jammed for two consecutive days to develop new songs and material. Altogether, they recorded nine hours of music. Leucocyte became the first release from these sessions and has been praised by critics and fans alike as a ground-breaking work that leads into a new musical universe. Very soon after the recording, Svensson had edited much of the material down to two albums. And so the plan at the time was to release either a double album or two consecutive albums from this recording. Svensson’s tragic passing on June 14, 2008, (as a result of a scuba diving accident) disrupted this undertaking, and only one of the albums, Leucocyte (ACT, 2008), was released at the time.


Three years later, in October and November 2011, Berglund and Öström revisited the material from that recording session and together, with the band’s regular sound engineer Ake Linton, made their own edit for an album which is now called 301, on the basis of the name of the studio where the album was recorded.

 
For more information on e.s.t., visit est-music.com. For more information on The ACT Company, visit actmusic.com.

Categories
comedy gospel Michigan music performances releases United States Vickie Winans

Gospel singer Vickie Winans launches 40-city comedy DVD release tour

Gospel singer Vickie Winans has added another element to her career. “The Comedianna” (her trademarked definition of a hilarious story-telling Queen), is hitting the road to promote two newly recorded comedy DVDs, entitled, “Hilarious and Unplugged” Vol. 1 and 2. The stand-up comedy projects will be available in stores, on her website and at every stop along the projected 40-city tour that will take the charismatic singer into churches, theaters, and other venues. The tour has kicked off on April 8 at the  House of Hope/Salem Baptist Church Worship Center in Chicago, where the Rev. James Meeks is the pastor, and will continue throughout the summer.
 Both DVDs were recorded on Dec. 7, 2011, to multiple standing-room-only audiences at Detroit’s Upper Room Complex. During nearly four hours of stage time, Winans told one sidesplitting story after another, from her life’s experiences to growing up with 11 siblings. During the evening, Winans performed a live version of her smash hits, “Shake Yourself Loose” and “How I Got Over” with her nephew Tim Bowman Jr., and she also shot a live music video of her son Mario Winans’ “Overcomer” remix. These songs are included on the DVDs.

A unique element to the tour is that Winans has purchased a luxury Sprinter van to transport the homeless in each city to be her special guests at each comedy show. The singer is in pre-production for the starring role as “Grace Avery” in an uplifting feature film surrounding the issue of homelessness entitled, “Amazing Grace,” which has heightened her sensitivity to the topic so much so that Winans has a newly formed foundation to help decrease homelessness in America.

“My ultimate goal is to build homes and more shelters for the homeless,” says Winans in a news release, “but until then, as many as the bus will hold will be my special guest VIPs for a night of laughter, food and a gift bag!”

Winans entered the gospel music scene in 1985 with her signature smash “We Shall Behold Him.” She’s remained one of gospel music’s Top 10 artists. She has appeared on the cover of Jet magazine, served as celebrity spokesperson for Daimler-Chrysler, McDonald’s and Quaker Oats. Other hits include “As Long as I Got King Jesus,” “Shake Yourself Loose” and “The Rainbow.” For more information, visit www.vickiewinans.com.

Categories
Bryan Scary indie indie music indie pop music Paper Garden Records releases United States

Bryan Scary to release new album “Daffy’s Elixir” on April 24

Bryan Scary
It’s been nearly three years since the last Bryan Scary release. If this is the first times new fans will hear of Scary, then get ready: his new album, Daffy’s Elixir, is about to flood your ears with grandiose 70’s inspired experimental indie pop.  
Having recently played Daffy’s Elixir in its entirety at NYC’s (le) Poisson Rouge venue and now plotting an Off-Broadway theatre work centered around the record, Scary is awing existing fans all-the-while quickly attracting new ones with this bold new project.
 
Scary‘s previous records garnered critical acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, SPIN, Stereogum, USA Today, iTunes, Daytrotter, Perez Hilton, RCRD LBL, Paste, Filter, IFC, NY Post and endless others. But we believe Bryan Scary is at his peak with Daffy’s Elixir, a 70-minute opus two years in the making.
For fans lucky enough to be biting from the Big Apple, Scary will be playing a couple key shows in the coming months. He’ll be playing at Joe’s Pub (with fellow label-mates Little Tybee) on April 11, and the Daffy’s Elixir record release show on April 24 at Brooklyn Bowl.
To order a limited edition copy of Daffy’s Elixir by Bryan Scary, go to: http://papergardenrecords.com/shop/bryan-scary/
Categories
gospel Maryland music O That Men Would Worship releases Stephen Hurd United States

Gospel artist Stephen Hurd releases “O That Men Would Worship”

Over the past decade, Stephen Hurd has distinguished himself as one of the leading voices in urban praise and worship music and his songs “Undignified” and “Lead Me to the Rock” are sung at faith gatherings around the globe.


Now, he’s preparing to release his most ambitious project yet, O That Men Would Worship, his sixth CD and the first on his own Hurd The Word recording label. He’s designed the new CD as a tool to inspire men to take on a greater leadership role in church worship services. Recorded live at The First Baptist Church of Glenarden in Upper Marlboro, MD, where Hurd is the minister of music, the collection is available in retail stores this week via a distribution deal with Central South Distribution Inc.


“My goal is to get men and especially men of color to realize that worship is not a feminine sport,” Hurd says in a news release. “In this season, I feel we should come together and lift up a sound that has the power to change families and strengthen communities and help brothers to get a glimpse of what real worship is. I think when men see other men worship it gives them freedom to worship without feeling emasculated.”
 
Joining Hurd for this manly worship experience are Verity Records artist Jason Nelson, Christian pop artist Anthony Evans and Minister Deonte Gray who is a member of the 7 Sons of Soul vocal group. Hurd created an all-male sextet of singers to back certain songs and a coed group called Extol to back the CD as a whole. Aside from co-writing most of the songs, Hurd produced the 15-track set alongside up-and-coming producers Kenny Shelton and Anthony Brown. Celebrated producer Steve Ford, who’s worked with acts ranging from Phyllis Hyman to Richard Smallwood, created the lush string arrangements while the in-demand Phil Lassiter (John P. Kee, Marvin Sapp) delivered the horn arrangements.


“It was the easiest thing I’ve ever done,” Hurd says of the recording. “There was no drama. Everybody was excited to be there and came with the attitude of ‘What can I do to make this impact?’”


Although, Hurd began recording albums in the late 1990s, his first national CD release was 2004’s A Call to Worship (Integrity Music) that featured the Caribbean-styled radio smash, “Undignified.”  The 2006 My Destiny (Integrity Music) CD featured the hit singles “Great Praise (The War Cry)” and “Destiny,” while his 2008 Top 10 Stellar Award winning CD, Times of Refreshing (Integrity Music), featured the radio single, “Amazing.” For more information, visit www.hurdthewordmusic.com. 


Categories
jazz Kenny Garrett Mack Avenue Records music new releases releases saxophonist United States

Saxophonist Kenny Garrett returns with “Seeds from the Underground” on April 10

Over the course of a stellar career that has spanned more than 30 years, saxophonist Kenny Garrett has become the preeminent alto saxophonist of his generation. From his first gig with the Duke Ellington Orchestra (led by Mercer Ellington) through his time spent with musicians such as Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers and Miles Davis, Garrett has always brought a vigorous yet melodic, and truly distinctive, alto saxophone sound to each musical situation. As a bandleader for the last two decades, he has also continually grown as a composer. With his latest recording (and second for Mack Avenue Records), Seeds from the Underground, Garrett has given notice that these qualities have not only become more impressive, but have provided him with the platform to expand his horizons and communicate his musical vision clearly. Seeds from the Underground is a powerful return to the straight-ahead, acoustic and propulsive quartet format that showcases Garrett’s extraordinary abilities.
For Garrett, Seeds from the Underground is a special recording. It once again consists of all original compositions, and is truly an homage to those who have inspired and influenced him, both personally and musically. “All of these songs are dedicated to someone,” says Garrett in a news release. “And the ‘seeds’ have been planted, directly or indirectly, by people who have been instrumental in my development.”
The album highlights Garrett’s overall approach to music: wide-ranging, receiving ideas from all musical sources and genres. 

“I love the challenge of trying to stay open…about music and about life,” Garrett says. “If it’s music, I just try to check it out. Right now, I’m listening to some music from Martinique, and I’m lovin’ it. If I like it, maybe I can incorporate some of it into what I do.” 

As for composing: “I don’t try to control what I write,” he says. “Music comes from ‘The Creator.’ It’s a gift that’s coming in, and I receive it. I write in all genres, and I’m writing all the time. It’s never about what it is…I just say thank you.”
Seeds from the Underground is the latest stop on what continues to be a fascinating musical journey for Kenny Garrett and his listeners. It’s a recording that is not only a significant personal statement from the saxophonist, but a musical declaration of his continued growth as a musician, and in particular, as a composer.
“Since my last recording, [his Mack Avenue debut, Sketches of MD/Live at the Iridium], I’ve had a lot of different experiences [including the aforementioned Five Peace Band, as well as The Freedom Band featuring Corea, McBride and Haynes],” Garrett says. “What I liked about putting this album together was the idea that my writing had grown and had become a little different, partially the result of Seeds from the Underground.”