JUNE 2024: Featured Artist
'I'll Be Searching for the Rest of My Life'
An Interview with Versatile, Grammy Award-Winning Saxophonist
Kenny Garrett
Kenny Garrett
Photo Credit: Evelyn Freja |
Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Kenny Garrett is among the most compelling improvisers, composers and bandleaders in jazz and a 2023 National Endowment for The Arts Jazz Master.
Over the past four decades, the Detroit-born virtuoso has applied his brush to an impossibly rich range of music. He began his career performing with the Duke Ellington Orchestra at the age of seventeen, and, in 1987, he began working with Miles Davis, a collaboration that lasted for five years. Kenny has performed and recorded with a multitude of musical icons, including Art Blakey, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Q-Tip, and many others. Kenny is open to all kinds of music, and his latest albums demonstrate his versatility. Sounds from the Ancestors (2021) reflects the rich jazz, R&B, and gospel history of his hometown of Detroit. It also reverberates with a modern cosmopolitan vibrancy – notably the inclusion of music coming out of France, Cuba, Nigeria and Guadeloupe. His collaboration with Miles Davis permeates his new electronic LP, Who Killed AI? (April 2024), which includes seven irresistibly grooving, hook-filled jams shaped with the producer-musician Svoy. This LP was recorded in Kenny’s New Jersey living room and arrives during a fascinating time for the intersection of jazz and pop culture, when improvised music and spiritual jazz are finding new, young audiences raised on hip-hop and indie rock. In many ways, it’s an explosive, creative period that musicians like Kenny made possible. Kenny maintains a prolific touring and recording schedule with his own band, as well as the world’s most acclaimed jazz legends. |
Click Image to Watch a Clip from Kenny Garrett's Performance
at the Padova Jazz Festival (November 2022)
at the Padova Jazz Festival (November 2022)
Myrna Haskell, executive editor, saw Kenny Garrett perform at the Blue Note jazz club in Manhattan back in February. Kenny and company took the house down, and she immediately approached him after the performance to ask for an interview. She was thrilled to chat with this incredibly talented musician and composer several months later by phone.
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Both your stepfather and your biological father were musically inclined. What did you learn about music from these two men in your life?
My stepfather, Benny, was a saxophone player. I have a lot of respect for him because he already had three kids. And my family (his new family) had five kids. He was spreading himself so thin. He was actually working two jobs to try to take care of all of us. I now realize what a daunting task that was. The reason I started playing saxophone was because of him — not because I wanted to learn to play the saxophone back then — I just loved the smell of the case. (We both laugh.) I’d sit by him and listen to him practice, and there was this old velvet case, and I just loved the smell. Eventually, one Christmas, he got me a plastic saxophone, and I started playing. He definitely encouraged me. I am sure that music was in me, though. My biological father was a doo-wop singer. In some ways, it all came full circle. I had a strong relationship with my stepfather. But eventually, when I became an adult, I created a relationship with my biological father. |
Kenny and His Band Performing at Blue Note on February 3, 2024
Photo Credit: Myrna Haskell |
You grew up in Detroit. What is it about that city? It’s a hotbed for creativity for so many genres of music. Is there something about Detroit’s unique culture/environment that breeds great musicians time and again?
There are so many different genres there. The thing about Detroit is that it had everything. It had classical and so many other genres. If you wanted to learn about bebop, you came to Detroit. If you wanted to learn about the Motown sound, you came to Detroit. And those musicians that were playing Motown were really jazz musicians. My mother liked the Four Tops and the Temptations…she listened to those kinds of groups. I used to go to [Detroit’s] Fox Theatre to hear that music.
There is definitely something in the water, but it was also the teachers we had there. My first music teacher was Bill Wiggins. He was my high school band director. I played music, but I didn’t play on that level. I was trying to decide between sports and music. Bill was the one who brought me on. He took me under his wing. He introduced me to Marcus Belgrave [and others]. He understood the importance and the significance of staying in Detroit and learning from all these musicians [who flocked there].
I think it also has something to do with how the people live. In some ways, it’s a hard life. There’s a certain strength that’s there, and you carry that with you as you travel the world. That struggle helps you to become the best you can be.
There are so many different genres there. The thing about Detroit is that it had everything. It had classical and so many other genres. If you wanted to learn about bebop, you came to Detroit. If you wanted to learn about the Motown sound, you came to Detroit. And those musicians that were playing Motown were really jazz musicians. My mother liked the Four Tops and the Temptations…she listened to those kinds of groups. I used to go to [Detroit’s] Fox Theatre to hear that music.
There is definitely something in the water, but it was also the teachers we had there. My first music teacher was Bill Wiggins. He was my high school band director. I played music, but I didn’t play on that level. I was trying to decide between sports and music. Bill was the one who brought me on. He took me under his wing. He introduced me to Marcus Belgrave [and others]. He understood the importance and the significance of staying in Detroit and learning from all these musicians [who flocked there].
I think it also has something to do with how the people live. In some ways, it’s a hard life. There’s a certain strength that’s there, and you carry that with you as you travel the world. That struggle helps you to become the best you can be.
As a young musician, you toured with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. How did you get into this group at the age of seventeen?
I was putting in a lot of time. After I did my homework, I practiced seven to eight hours a day. Both of my teachers (Bill Wiggins and Marcus Belgrave) prepared me. My high school didn’t have a musical program [like some of the other schools in the area that had established music programs], but these teachers showed me how you can become an accomplished musician. There was this club I used to play at called Cobbs Corner. Bill Wiggins gave me his gig to play on the weekends. He was helping me out this way [to learn what it was like to play professionally]. When the Duke Ellington Orchestra came through Detroit, my teachers recommended me.
I wanted to go to Berklee College of Music, but I was never accepted. Later, I wound up getting an honorary doctorate degree from there [in 2011].
Was there a musician or two in this orchestra who took you under their wing?
It was all of them. Everybody gave me lessons. But the opportunity to play with trumpeter Cootie Williams was a true blessing.
Kenny describes how he got to know Cootie.
When you’re young, you sit at the back of the bus. But I didn’t know that, so I sat in the fourth seat because it was empty. Cootie had come out of retirement, and when he got on, he sat across from me. I used to like to eat cookies, and I had a whole bag with me, so I shared them. After that, whenever his sugar would go down, he would ask, ‘Hey Cookie Baby, can I have some of those cookies?’ That’s how we became friends.
He was the one who encouraged me to write my own songs.
But others also took Kenny under their wings, and all of these experiences helped to shape him as a musician.
I was putting in a lot of time. After I did my homework, I practiced seven to eight hours a day. Both of my teachers (Bill Wiggins and Marcus Belgrave) prepared me. My high school didn’t have a musical program [like some of the other schools in the area that had established music programs], but these teachers showed me how you can become an accomplished musician. There was this club I used to play at called Cobbs Corner. Bill Wiggins gave me his gig to play on the weekends. He was helping me out this way [to learn what it was like to play professionally]. When the Duke Ellington Orchestra came through Detroit, my teachers recommended me.
I wanted to go to Berklee College of Music, but I was never accepted. Later, I wound up getting an honorary doctorate degree from there [in 2011].
Was there a musician or two in this orchestra who took you under their wing?
It was all of them. Everybody gave me lessons. But the opportunity to play with trumpeter Cootie Williams was a true blessing.
Kenny describes how he got to know Cootie.
When you’re young, you sit at the back of the bus. But I didn’t know that, so I sat in the fourth seat because it was empty. Cootie had come out of retirement, and when he got on, he sat across from me. I used to like to eat cookies, and I had a whole bag with me, so I shared them. After that, whenever his sugar would go down, he would ask, ‘Hey Cookie Baby, can I have some of those cookies?’ That’s how we became friends.
He was the one who encouraged me to write my own songs.
But others also took Kenny under their wings, and all of these experiences helped to shape him as a musician.
Photo Credit: Evelyn Freja
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What can you share about your experience with Miles Davis? What did you appreciate most about playing with him?
Miles would play a line (or a melody), and I would play it back. He didn’t tell me to do this. I just did it. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was learning the language from Miles Davis. He would say, ‘This guy is playing all my lines!’ He showed me a lot of respect, and he trusted me to play on the bandstand with him. For him to allow me to spread my wings and to grow, well it was one of the highlights of my early career, for sure. I didn’t really know what he thought about me. Sometimes you just don’t know because that generation of guys did things differently. They didn’t tell you what you had to do. You just got on the stage with them — there wasn’t a lot of talking. As a composer, you love to mix styles. Has this always been something you enjoyed? I never thought about genres. There were just a lot of different styles, and I never thought to separate them. I just wanted to learn how to play music, and I wasn’t thinking I have to play this sound or that sound. It’s a lifelong journey. I just love jazz, but I love to play everything. When I was younger, I would hide all my 45s and 78s [vinyl records] after Thanksgiving. Then, I would take them out on Christmas Day and would play all of this music I loved all day long. It would lift my soul and my spirit. When you heard me play at the Blue Note — those songs from my Sounds from the Ancestors album — I was trying to capture that spirit. |
And at that performance I attended at the Blue Note, the energy continued to build. By the end of the evening, the crowd was at fever pitch. Anything you’d like to say about audience rapport — how that energy drives your performance?
I always have felt it’s important to communicate with the audience — and to show them because sometimes they don’t know. I want the audience to enjoy the journey…and it’s mainly a spiritual journey. We’re sharing this music with them, and they’ll have these memories, so I always try to bring them in. It’s never the same journey because it’s different every night. But we try to get to that place. We’re giving out the energy, and we want to get that back. It’s a conversation, and the audience needs to participate.
I’ve heard you seek out young musicians to play with. It sounds like you enjoy paying it forward.
Actually, I mentor a lot of people. I usually don’t talk about it because it’s just what you do. I worked with one young musician who I realized was really talented. Maybe he wasn’t getting everything right away, but I knew he needed to be brought out…he needed the opportunity. I bring in a lot of young people to play with me — piano players and other musicians. You pass it on. It’s just something you do.
Who Killed AI?* was just released. I read that this is your first electronic album. As a writer, I’m wondering about the title.
They say it’s my first ‘electronic’ album, but I’ve been playing electronic music all my life. It’s really about sound. Yes. Technically, this was done by a computer. So, I suppose in that sense it’s an ‘electronic’ album. But I played electric music when I played with Miles.
Basically, Svoy would come around because he wanted to learn. He’d be in the studio, so I would ask if he could write certain parts. He lived near me, so we were literally sitting in my living room. I would listen to something, and I would create a melody and do a solo. I would ask him to write something in the style of Miles Davis, for instance, and he would go back and write something in that style. It was relaxed, and it felt really free.
It [the title] was not my idea. I was letting a friend of mine listen to a couple of tracks. He said, ‘That sounds like AI.’ I said I’m going to use that. But it can mean a lot of things. Who killed AI? Who will AI kill? Who killed love? In Japanese there’s a symbol, ai, for love [the Japanese kanji symbol for love is ai]. But it can be any of those titles. It’s a play on words.
*Who Killed AI? is produced by Kenny Garrett (alto & soprano saxophones, vocals) and Svoy (programming, vocals, piano). This release includes seven irresistibly grooving, hook-filled jams shaped with the producer-musician Svoy. It is proof of how technically commanding, hard-earned musicianship — Garrett’s solos were captured in single takes — can thrive inside laptop-generated sounds.
Experimentation seems to drive you.
I’ll be searching for the rest of my life. I know that every day I get up, I have a chance to learn something. If you want to learn about life, talk to all kinds of people. I’ve realized that I don’t have enough time to learn everything, so I talk to people. If I have a different perspective, I’ll still think, ‘I’m okay with that.’
What’s next for Kenny Garrett?
I’m so busy right now. We’re still touring with the music from Sounds of the Ancestors. And I want more people to hear Who Killed AI?, too. Right now, I’m focused on all of that.
I always have felt it’s important to communicate with the audience — and to show them because sometimes they don’t know. I want the audience to enjoy the journey…and it’s mainly a spiritual journey. We’re sharing this music with them, and they’ll have these memories, so I always try to bring them in. It’s never the same journey because it’s different every night. But we try to get to that place. We’re giving out the energy, and we want to get that back. It’s a conversation, and the audience needs to participate.
I’ve heard you seek out young musicians to play with. It sounds like you enjoy paying it forward.
Actually, I mentor a lot of people. I usually don’t talk about it because it’s just what you do. I worked with one young musician who I realized was really talented. Maybe he wasn’t getting everything right away, but I knew he needed to be brought out…he needed the opportunity. I bring in a lot of young people to play with me — piano players and other musicians. You pass it on. It’s just something you do.
Who Killed AI?* was just released. I read that this is your first electronic album. As a writer, I’m wondering about the title.
They say it’s my first ‘electronic’ album, but I’ve been playing electronic music all my life. It’s really about sound. Yes. Technically, this was done by a computer. So, I suppose in that sense it’s an ‘electronic’ album. But I played electric music when I played with Miles.
Basically, Svoy would come around because he wanted to learn. He’d be in the studio, so I would ask if he could write certain parts. He lived near me, so we were literally sitting in my living room. I would listen to something, and I would create a melody and do a solo. I would ask him to write something in the style of Miles Davis, for instance, and he would go back and write something in that style. It was relaxed, and it felt really free.
It [the title] was not my idea. I was letting a friend of mine listen to a couple of tracks. He said, ‘That sounds like AI.’ I said I’m going to use that. But it can mean a lot of things. Who killed AI? Who will AI kill? Who killed love? In Japanese there’s a symbol, ai, for love [the Japanese kanji symbol for love is ai]. But it can be any of those titles. It’s a play on words.
*Who Killed AI? is produced by Kenny Garrett (alto & soprano saxophones, vocals) and Svoy (programming, vocals, piano). This release includes seven irresistibly grooving, hook-filled jams shaped with the producer-musician Svoy. It is proof of how technically commanding, hard-earned musicianship — Garrett’s solos were captured in single takes — can thrive inside laptop-generated sounds.
Experimentation seems to drive you.
I’ll be searching for the rest of my life. I know that every day I get up, I have a chance to learn something. If you want to learn about life, talk to all kinds of people. I’ve realized that I don’t have enough time to learn everything, so I talk to people. If I have a different perspective, I’ll still think, ‘I’m okay with that.’
What’s next for Kenny Garrett?
I’m so busy right now. We’re still touring with the music from Sounds of the Ancestors. And I want more people to hear Who Killed AI?, too. Right now, I’m focused on all of that.
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Upcoming Shows:
June 12 SF Jazz San Francisco, CA July 31 Jazz in Marciac Marciac ~ Occitania, France August 25 La Reunion ~ Jazz Fest |
