Tarik Jones



Tarik Jones

WRI 103

Revision 4

The Road Less-Traveled

The city was alive and as busy as ever. It was the holiday season in downtown Manhattan, and along with the heavy snow, thousands of shoppers filled the sandy, slush-covered streets. Everything from the elegant showrooms floors of Prada and Donna Karan on Fifth Avenue, to the larger-than-life billboard displays of the musicals showing on Broadway added to the amazing effect of the glamorous New York night. After a seemingly endless trek from Madison Square Garden, past the commotion of the Broadway theaters, and through the crowded sidewalks of Times Square, we finally arrived at a small club in a much quieter part of town. All I could think about as I stepped foot inside the club was that I was actually at Birdland, one of the most famous jazz clubs in the world, and that virtually every great jazz legend had performed on its stage.

I knew that it was going to be a special night as I took my seat in the back of the small, serene, candle-lit room. The stage was empty except for the instruments of the accompaniment, which all seemed to radiate light throughout the room from the spotlights that shone on each of them. From the way the musicians of the Kenny Garrett Quartet nonchalantly entered the stage, one would never imagine that such passion was bottled up inside of them, soon to be unleashed on the crowd. But from the very first note, the impression of dispassion was dispelled immediately. The performance was phenomenal. It had the power of a big band, the finesse of a classical piano, and the smoothness of the blues all in one 45 minute show. It comes as no surprise, however, that a player like Kenny Garrett would include so many different styles into his show.

Kenny Garrett, who has quickly become one of the most well-known and respected alto saxophonists in the world, admits that one of his greatest influences was the legendary trumpeter, Miles Davis. The unique sound that Davis was able to produce with his use of funk and rock and roll brought his music to a place that had never before been explored. However, it was Davis’ disregard for rhythm and harmony that lost him respect from a great number of listeners and forever ostracized him from traditionalists that believe without these things, the music could not be considered jazz. Garrett too has branched away from the well-beaten path of strict, traditional jazz by incorporating hip-hop, funk and blues into his music. The difference is that Kenny Garrett has managed to be as eclectic as Miles Davis without disenchanting the starch traditionalists of the jazz world. It is Kenny Garrett’s ability to create unique, contemporary jazz that incorporates funk, hip-hop and blues while at the same time maintaining a solid traditional bebop foundation that has made him such an exceptional musician and performer.

When the show began, the solid, cohesive sound immediately caught my attention as the quartet blazed through their first piece, “Two Down, One Across.” The very quick double time feel made the song come alive as the drummer and bassist remained in perfect time and Kenny Garrett and the pianist exchanged exceptionally intricate and vibrant solos. It was refreshing as a student of jazz and also as a listener to hear such pure, hard-swinging bebop jazz. The way each instrument complimented the other and fed off of one another, one could sense that they were progressing through the song as a unit and that no one was lost in the chaos.

Ron Bruner, the drummer for the quartet, was particularly impressive because of the way he was able to change the texture of the song with distinctive accompaniment styles behind each soloist. Kenny Garrett’s solo was full of emotion and shear intensity, so he matched that intensity with explosively loud and technically complicated riffs, standing up at times to get enough leverage to smash the ride cymbal with his wooden mallets and booming down on the bass drum with his foot. His energy motivated Kenny Garrett to continue to take it to the next level of intensity and to keep growing as the solo progressed. In contrast, when the pianist began his solo, Bruner created a completely different feel. He mellowed out a bit, but still keeping up the intensity and the drive of the song. He played loudly only at the end of phrases, not only to allow the piano to be heard, but also to match the fluidity of the second solo. It was somewhat shocking to see them begin the show with such a hard-hitting, powerful piece, but it immediately caught the attention of the audience, showed the quartet’s mastery of bebop jazz, and built a solid bebop foundation from which they were able to branch off into different genres as the night progressed.

The night was off to a great start and as they transitioned from the first to the second song,” Chief Blackwater,” the energy was largely sustained. The theme was still bebop, but a much different atmosphere was created with this song. A very distinct call-and-response section filled out the middle portion as Kenny Garrett and Ron Bruner went back and forth, each growing more and more animated with blasts of notes and variations of rhythmic ideas. Almost comical at some points, the saxophonist and drummer injected moments of sarcasm and references to other unrelated songs throughout the interaction. True talent was all that could be seen throughout the incredible display.

When they began the third song, the pattern that would define the night started to take shape. The song was cleverly titled, “Kenny, That Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues,” but it was actually a mixture of the many genres that have influenced Kenny Garrett’s playing. The bebop foundation had been laid with the first two songs, and now it was clear that he was ready to show how he is able to incorporate other genres. The underlying drum line had a slow, smooth hip-hop feel that very quickly had everyone in the room bobbing their heads. Garrett also switched his alto saxophone for a soprano sax, to give it a much softer, smoother sound. The influences of hip-hop, blues, and funk were all present in this song and it was apparent that he was paying tribute to the other contemporary styles of playing jazz. Like Miles Davis, he showed how other styles could be incorporated into jazz and could further enhance the music. The only difference was that Davis was much more liberal than many people could handle at his time. Garrett made sure to keep a solid rhythmic and melodic core to the song. Neither the modernists nor the traditionalists were disappointed because both were taken into consideration.

The following song, which was a medley of various Japanese and Korean folksongs, was an even softer ballad and continued with the trend of a fusion-like incorporation of other genres into the music. It had a very mysterious, edgy quality that continued throughout due to a lack of accompaniment throughout the piece,. Besides a few sporadic riffs from the piano that provided instances of dissonance with the soft, slow solo, there were long silent breaks between notes that somehow didn’t seem out of place at all. Garrett’s ability to create that edgy feel without compromising the quality of the music says a lot about him as a musician. His decision to include folksongs from the various other countries in such a short performance also says a lot about his appreciation for the music. Veering even further from the bebop foundation that he laid in the beginning of the performance, Garrett proved that nothing was off limits to him.

In the past few years, fans of Kenny Garrett have become concerned that he may be the next to sell out to what is most commercially popular and will make him the most money. These accusations came about with the release of his album Simply Said in 2001 because the majority of the songs on the album were said to be very lucid, lacking originality, and very commercial. However, after seeing his ability to incorporate different types of music into his songs, and his appreciation for traditional as well as contemporary jazz idioms, I am absolutely convinced that he is not a commercial sell-out. His decision to try a different style on the Simply Said album may have not been widely accepted, but it should not warrant an accusation of selling-out. It takes a certain threshold for experimentation for a good artist to become a great one and without an album like Simply Said, where Garrett ventures into a sound that he has never experimented with, Garrett would remain stagnant and lose respectability. Also, his experimentation in this live performance shows his willingness to explore and use other sounds to further enhance his music.

Overall, the performance of the Kenny Garrett Quartet was a very well-balanced mixture of traditional and contemporary jazz that was satisfying despite the brevity of the performance. Each song showed a different aspect of the wide range of styles in which the quartet was skilled and showed the Miles Davis-like quality of the quartet to take the path less traveled in search of new fresh sounds.

Works Cited:

1. Garrett, Kenny. Perf. Kenny Garrett. Simply Said. Warner Brother. 1999.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download