Kenny Garrett earned his chops while playing with Miles Davis and Kenny Kirkland.
By: Susan Van Dongen
From hard bop to hip-hop, saxophonist Kenny Garrett has played it all.
Earning his stature in the jazz world as a young sideman with Miles Davis, Art Blakey and Woody Shaw, Mr. Garrett also has shared the stage with hip-hop legend Guru and collaborated with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.
On the other hand, rock fans might have seen him on the first Amnesty International Tour alongside Peter Gabriel and Sting.
It was partly through his work with the latter that Mr. Garrett forged a friendship with late keyboardist Kenny Kirkland, who played with Sting in the ’80s and ’90s, notably on the concert film Bring on the Night.
The two musicians became so close that they used to leave musical messages on each others’ answering machines no greeting, no comments, just music.
"Whenever I’d call him, I’d play something on the piano and leave it on his voice mail so he would know it was from me," Mr. Garrett says. "Back in 1998, when I was writing the song ‘Doc Tone’s Short Speech,’ I felt this strong urge to call and let him hear it but I thought, ‘Oh, I’ll see him soon.’ Four days later, I got a message from his sister that he had passed away. He never got a chance to hear the song. I had already written and titled it."
Mr. Garrett and his quartet will be at the Mount-Burke Theater at the Peddie School Dec. 2, part of Jazz Fridays at the venue.
Speaking from his home in northern New Jersey, Mr. Garrett reflects on the friend he calls his "musical brother."
"We had a lot of similarities he liked German chocolate cake, I liked German chocolate cake," Mr. Garrett says. "He drove a BMW, I drove a BMW. But I had known him before the tour with Sting. He was playing with Bob Mintzer so I went and sat in with Bob’s band and Kenny was there. As a sideman he helped out a lot of people Sting, Wynton and Branford Marsalis but he also had a lot of original things to say musically.
"That’s why I titled it ‘Short Speech,’ because Kenny never got to pursue the entire legacy he could have left for the music," he continues. "He had written so many songs, but only recorded one album as a leader. It’s a shame he wasn’t here long enough to do more."
"Doc Tone’s Short Speech" is just one of the cuts on Mr. Garrett’s 2003 CD, Standard of Language (Warner Brothers). He’s still working with the musicians who recorded and toured behind his previous album, Happy People drummer Chris Dave, bassist Charnett Moffett and pianist Vernell Brown. The group brings an array of styles together, from free jazz to hip-hop sensibilities.
Concert-goers might hear a section of the three-part title suite in Hightstown, since it’s been in Mr. Garrett’s live repertoire for a few years. Or he might take the ballad "Just a Second to Catch My Breath" for a walk. Standard of Language also features a couple of tracks with Japanese names, reflecting the musician’s fascination with the Far East.
For example, "Kurita Sensei" has a cool, 6/8 tempo with a melody inspired by Wayne Shorter’s "Footprints." Mr. Garrett dedicated it to his doting teacher at a Japanese language school.
"I’d been studying the standard language of Japan for several years, originally just through tapes and books," he says. "A few years ago, I wanted to go over there and see what level I (had attained). I hadn’t been reading and writing, just doing conversation, but they put me in the advanced class. Kurita Sensei thought I was closer to the native speakers than the others so she always called on me. I was her pet.
"While I was there, I started to hear this melody that reminded me of Kurita Sensei she’s kind of strict but at the same time she’s kind of fun," he continues. "So I wrote the lead sheet out and gave it to her. She had no idea what it was or who I was. Finally, when I recorded it, I had the record company send it to her and then she realized who I was. Before that she thought I was just another student. We still stay in touch."
Mr. Garrett is also studying Chinese. In fact, a language instruction tape was playing in the background at his home.
"I’ve always had a passion for (Asian) languages, more so than Latin language," he says. "I had the opportunity to stay in Japan for some time and I really enjoyed it there. I learned a lot about the culture through studying the language. There’s just something about that part of the world that resonates with me."
Born in Detroit in 1961, Mr. Garrett was introduced to the saxophone by his father, a carpenter who also played a little tenor sax.
"Actually, the thing that drew me to the saxophone was the smell of the case," he says. "My first sax was a toy sax. But my second had a bullet hole in it that had been soldered (over)."
Jazz was all around the house, but Mr. Garrett had the opportunity to explore other genres of music as well soul, gospel and classical. He had just started college when he was offered a slot in the Duke Ellington Orchestra directed by Ellington’s son, Mercer. A few years later, Mr. Garrett moved to New York to play with the Mel Lewis Orchestra and the Dannie Richmond Quintet. In 1984, he released his first album as a band leader, Introducing Kenny Garrett (Criss Cross), and went on to record with the likes of Mr. Blakey, Mr. Shaw and Freddie Hubbard.
Then he was spotted by Miles Davis and the five year/four-album association left an indelible mark on Mr. Garrett’s life and career.
He was still with Mr. Davis when he took a break to join Sting, Peter Gabriel and other rock superstars for the Amnesty International Tour.
"We went to Africa, Greece and India," Mr. Garrett says. "It was like a big family, we all traveled together. I was still playing with Miles when I went out with Amnesty for about a year. Miles was afraid I wasn’t going to come back. But I did.
"Miles was the longest tenure I had with a band about five and a half years," he continues. "It was a great privilege to be with a musician of this caliber. When you think about it, Miles had shared the bandstand with Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt all these great sax players. So, just to be on the same bandstand was a real honor. You hope you get some of that greatness through osmosis, through the music."
In addition to his solo recordings and his work with some of the giants of contemporary jazz, Mr. Garrett has more than 100 credits as a sideman, worked on the soundtrack to the film Love Jones and dethroned Phil Woods from the top of the alto sax category in Down Beat’s readers’ poll.
He senses that fans are hungering for a new recording and says he’s been writing a lot of music and conceptualizing the next project.
"I know, it seems overdue," Mr. Garrett says. "But I want to take my time until the music comes to me."
The Kenny Garrett Quartet will play the Mount-Burke Theater, Peddie School, South Main Street, Hightstown, Dec. 2, 8 p.m. Pre-concert chat with the artist, 7 p.m. Tickets cost $15. For information, call (609) 490-7550. On the Web: www.peddie.org/capps. Kenny Garrett on the Web: www.kennygarrett.com

