KENNY GARRETT — Seeds From Underground (review)

KENNY GARRETT — Seeds From Underground album cover Album · 2012 · Post Bop Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
js
“Seeds from the Underground” is the latest offering from saxophone virtuoso Kenny Garret and finds him working with the sort of post bop material typical of his career, but with some new differences as well. The influence of Coltrane and Pharoh Sanders’ modal work runs heavily through Garret’s playing and composing, but at the same time, the music on here is less raw than Trane and Sanders 60s output, but instead has a slight “contemporary” polish. Whether this more modern production is a plus or minus is up to personal taste. When I mention that the production has a contemporary sound, don’t think for a second that the musicians on here hold back at all, Garret’s saxophone playing is as brilliant as ever, and pianist Benito Gonzalez attacks the keys with a big sound influenced by McCoy Tyner, but with a little less thunder and a little more modern refinement than McCoy.

There are a lot of interesting experiments with Latin and Afro-Cuban rhythms on here, aided by the bata and percussion work of Rudy Bird. The combination of Garret’s post bop structures with the poly-rhythms of Cuba and Africa makes for a nice modern sound. There also seems to be a slight influence from the repeating minimalist structures of the nu jazz crowd. Some of the tunes on here are less like energetic workouts, but more like snapshots of sophisticated rhythms bound within tight structures. Another interesting addition to this album is the wordless vocals of Nedelka Prescod which lends an exotic sound to some melodies. On “Haynes” she backs the soloists with a repeating melodic figure that recalls Albert Ayler’s experimental work with vocalists. All through this album Garret tries different musical styles, such as the old-school bop on “Du-Wo-Mo”, but frames everything in his unique musical language which gives the album unity.

Some album highlights include the beautiful lonely melody on “Detroit”, which perfectly captures the pathos of that mostly abandoned once bustling American industrial center; and “J.Mac”, a lengthy modal workout which allows Garret and Gonzalez a chance to really go off. This is a good album and it will appeal to fans of Garret and modern post bop, but I think for new fans, possibly a better place to start with Garret is his high energy live concert with Pharoh Sanders, "Sketches of M.D.", recorded in 2008.
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