Search - Kenny Garrett :: Triology

Highly significant album from the alto sax master

ornen | Norway | 08/11/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This monster album, recorded in 1995, has been neglected by many listeners, even some of Garrett's eager fans. This man is the living master of the alto sax, in a style rooted in bebop and funk, with a soulful, personal sound and approach. The trio format here is most open and playful, and in my opinion just as successful as his later albums, "Songbook" and "Pursuance: The Music of John Coltrane". Prepare to be amazed by this record. It has some immediate qualities, and some that will sneak up on you as you listen it through several times. Just the way any great album is.Some words on the music..."Delfeayo's Dilemma" by Wynton Marsalis opens the album, a burner of a tune, kind of open harmonically, and perhaps the hardest tune to follow on the record."Night And Day" by Cole Porter is really good here, very playful and cool. Garrett streches out, takes his time and makes it his tune. The soloing is absolutely top notch, the build-up of the solo is masterful."Giant Steps" by the great, late John Coltrane is next, played in a really up-beat manner, nodding at the version that is to come on the "Pursuance:..." album. Garrett once again takes his time, plays with the melody for a long time. It is truly a great tune, and Garrett pays due before he also here manages to build a truly interesting solo. "A Time For Love", a beautiful, beautiful ballad by Johnny Mandel and Paul Francis Webster, is given the really slow treatment here, Garrett is really singing, Brian Blade is as tasteful as ever on the drums (brushes). A welcome break in the up-beat program. "Wayne's Thang", one of Kenny Garrett's signature tunes, is up next. It has a kind of second-line groove, a simple bass ostinato that goes through three chords, and a melody which is quite funny. Garrett is playing excellent here, he is so much fun to listen to! He works for a long time with his ideas, letting the song grow, building and building towards a climax with several long, high notes that leaves you gasping for air, before he takes us back to earth."Pressing The Issue" by Mulgrew Miller is a tune that may take some listening to truly appreciate, but once you do, its intricate turns and original melody and groove changing is about to please big time."Koranne Said" is another Kenny Garrett original, a very singable tune in a somewhat upbeat manner. It boasts, as usual on his originals, exceptional playing by Garrett."Oriental Towaway Zone" introduces Garrett's trademark-to-be toying with Eastern motifs and scales. It is an interesting number toward the end of a great album."In Your Own Sweet Way", the Dave Brubeck standard, is given a cool treatment. It's sort of low-down, but takes a strong build through the soloing, where Garrett sings, double-times, has fun. Garrett once again is comfortable with the tune, playing with the melody, and making a strong, personal solo. His choice of standards on this album really fits his style, or; he manages to make every tune his own like a true master. "What Is This Thing Called Love", another Cole Porter song, is the closing number on the album, played really fast and with plenty of vigor. The album leaves you sort of exhausted, because listening the whole album through, with the open trio format and very modern playing requires a lot of attention to truly appreciate. This being said, it is a monster album, and every jazz fan should buy it!Personnel:Kenny Garrett - alto saxophoneKiyoshi Kitagawa - bassBrian Blade - drumsCharnett Moffett - bass on "Night And Day", "A Time For Love" & Koranne Said""

Less is more

N. Dorward | Toronto, ON Canada | 02/01/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'd not listened to this one for a while; & in recent years I haven't followed Garrett much, given that I gathered his latest discs have become rather slick. But putting this one back on the stereo, I'm reminded how very good it is. Garrett's influences aren't too out-of-the-way--Coltrane above all, but also Shorter, Stitt, Rollins, Coleman--yet they don't weight the music down: Garrett is immediately identifiable as his own man, with a pert, likeable sound that is a lot more attractive & engaging than many of his more hard-edged, brainer-than-thou contemporaries. In this highly exposed format--just alto-bass-drums--he sounds superb & surprisingly unselfconscious. I've rarely heard a more sheerly fun version of "Giant Steps"--whereas most versions I've heard tend to sound like the player's trying too hard to show off, this one is fast but quite relaxed. It starts with a peculiar chorus where Garrett plays a bass line on his alto & drummer Brian Blade follows it closely to the point of risking turning the beat around--& yet they pull it off for the entire chorus without things falling apart. (Blade is marvelous throughout--he's surely one of the best younger drummers of recent years.) There's a bundle of good originals by Garrett, a couple contemporary pieces by Wynton Marsalis & Mulgrew Miller, & a straightforward batch of standards--"In Your Own Sweet Way", "Night & Day", "What Is This Thing"--with only the Mandel/Webster ballad "A Time For Love" an unusual choice. No fancy arrangements or revisions, but everything here sounds alert & without a wasted note. Do check this one out."

Together as one voice

Ben Dickson | Cambridge, MA | 03/07/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Triology is perhaps the most subtle album to grasp of the great Kenny Garrett (my personal favorite saxophonist). It's only after listening to each several times does it hit you on the head and you realize just how great it is. After this crucial point, you begin to uncover more and more layers of the album with each listening. The interaction between the three instruments is phenomenal. It is almost as if all three players have combined into one person playing three different instruments. With this powerful, single voice, the underlying spirituality of the album can be understood in a direct manner."