Search - Kenny Garrett :: Black Hope

The "other Kenny G" is Kenny Garrett, an alto and soprano saxophonist, has graduated from the top jazz schools in the country: the Duke Ellington Orchestra, the Mel Lewis Orchestra, the Freddie Hubbard Quintet, Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers and the very last Miles Davis band. He applies the lessons of that education to his mostly acoustic and altogether fine new album, Black Hope. The seven numbers that feature conga drummer Don Alias tend to have a steadier R&B groove, and the album's title cut is a transparent tribute, complete with background chatter and conga groove, to Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On." On these numbers, Garrett uses the tender, wounded sound that was Davis' signature to imitate a gospel soul singer yearning for something just beyond reach. As if that weren't enough, Garrett then puts his vocal-like phrases through countless jazz variations and then invites pianist Kenny Kirland to do the same. On the four tunes where drummer Brian Blade and bassist Charnett Moffett hold down the bottom by themselves, Garrett favors a big, blustery bop sound. On the 10-minute epic blowout "Computer G," and on the brisk reworking of "Bye Bye Blackbird," guest saxophonist Joe Henderson and Garrett both sound romantic and physical even as they're inventing fresh harmonic paths on the spur of the moment. Between the Davis and Henderson approaches, Garrett is able to cover a lot of ground, and he has matured into a major jazz composer. He wrote 11 of the dozen tunes on Black Hope, constructing difficult challenges for his bandmates and each time leading them into the clear. --Jeffrey Himes