Kenny Garrett "Standard of Language"

[Pharaohrock]

POST REACTIONS HERE. It's due out on the 12th.

[bubber]

Just read a review: " lacking in originality and dynamics....get the impression he (Garrett) is late for a train and consequently is extremely busy whatever he plays....they excel in muscular power-jazz...Garrett is impressive in a way, running long, intricate lines without missing a note or a beat -even then, it' comes forward as kind of sports performance...."

(from Dagbladet, Oslo)

[Pharaohrock]

I've listened to this two times and it's burnout mania for the most part. If you've heard Songbook much then a number of the tunes are rather predictable, as is the blowing on them, which seems intense on the surface but is really often just Kenny going through his established patterns and licks and not really breaking a sweat.

That said, there are some really nice tunes later in the program that kind of redeem this disc for me where it is otherwise a little obvious and monotonous.

Kenny plays a more conventional standard-type ballad that comes off beautiful and begs the question of him doing some kind of ballad record. "Doc Tone's short speech" is also a pretty unique cut.

I agree with the criticism about dynamics (there are none.), and I would add that Kenny could really do better by shedding Marcus Miller from his production team. I am confident that Marcus is responsible for the bizarre recorded sound on this disc, and while it's tolerable it seems totally inappropriate for the band's sound. It just sounds canned and brittle.

So, there's some redundancy from Songbook here and questionable sound, but other than that this is a pretty solid effort. Not 4 stars but safely 3 stars.

[Pharaohrock]

....Listening more to this record....Garrett's soprano playing on "Kurita Sensei" is pretty damned intense. He blows the shit out of that horn! "Native Sense" is the closest thing to Simply Said-type material on here, but it's such a quintessential Garrett tune....plaintive with a healthy dose of R&B lyricism.

I take back the comment that much of the intensity is surface-level here. There are some genuinely intense moments, mostly in spirited interaction between Garrett and Dave, but there's some
Kenny Garrett-schtick also.

Re: the band.

I was never a big fan of Charnett Moffett's sound. He has a fat sound but he always sounds like he's playing too high.

The drummer Chris Dave sounds pretty good and Tainish for the most part, though there are times when he is way too busy. I also wonder if he could keep his stick off the rim for one moment. The pianist Vernon Brown has a great rhythmic sense (eerily like Kenny Kirkland) but his soloing isn't really that advanced, depending on playing rhythmic figures and doing textural things at the expense of anything that melodic or developed. Nonetheless the band plays well together, and comparing it to the Watts-Kirkland band would only be unfair...

I'm revising my opinion of this disc upward a bit, but I still probably wouldn't give it 4 stars......the band just isn't quite up to the level Kenny is playing at. It's pretty good but a little short of great.

[Pharaohrock]

Like Songbook, the writing is a strength here, and it's all Garrett originals with the exception of the opening "What is This Thing Called Love", which in my opinion is probably the least memorable track (it's not really that hard to imagine how Kenny would take on this standard is it?? It pretty much conforms exactly to your expectations. I'm not sure why they bothered to include this to be honest.)

- I would have to nominate "Chief Blackwater" as the most spirited track here....it's got the closest vibe to Kenny's quartet with Tain and Kirkland....that kind of deep swing. "Gendai" by contrast sounds rather hyperactive, a little silly in fact.

BTW, the title of this disc refers to the final track, which is a suite called Standard of Language I-III. Here lies probably some of the most solid playing from all fronts on this record. Not as in-your-face as some of the other tracks but it's the most steady ensemble sound and the solos sound more developed, especially Kenny's. The suite develops in a logical and interesting way, and it's not gimmicky- actually, just straight-ahead swinging with slightly different feels and heads......really, just an excuse for prolonged blowing! Vernon Brown takes a fine solo on the second part.

[Pharaohrock]

This record is sounding stronger all the time. Now that I've gotten desensitized to the recorded sound I'm able to hear the music on its own terms better...

[David]

Thanks for the reviews, Pharoahrock. As far as I'm concerned Songbook and Pursuance are the only Kenny G records I need to own at this point. I think Kenny K really lit a fire under G (Kirkland was one of my favorite contemporary pianists), and his early passing is quite a tragedy.

[sal]

Thank you for the information, Pharaohrock. I've been undecided about this one, but I think I'm gonna go for it.

[Pharaohrock]

No prob. If you like Songbook I'd be very surprised if you didn't like this one.

[Librarian]

Didn't want this thread to slip too low on the food chain! Pharaohrock, it was interesting to follow the evolution of your posts as you became more familiar with the disc. How do you feel about it now, that you've had a week or so with it?

I've been enjoying this quite a bit. Reading the review in Downbeat I thought it would be all blast-furnace up-tempo wailers, but although there are a number of up-tempo pieces, the disc is quite varied.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Garrett's next project will be a live disc - everyone I've talked to who has seen him live has raved about the concert, and I'll bet this material would sound amazing live.

[Pharaohrock]

Librarian (should I be quiet?? lol.).....Kenny is ama-zing live. I heard him take an extended solo cadenza at Blues Alley that was beyond belief- closest thing to the intensity of Trane I willl probably ever hear.

- As for the gradual changing of my opinion on this disc, I've heard it now 10 times or so, and I think this disc is pretty solid but falls short of being a great record. One thing that I would hold against it that I haven't mentioned before is the fact the tracks are a little on the short side....it just comes across as being a little glib sometimes. I think this is the influence of Marcus Miller coming through, trying to compress everything as much as possible.

[Hardbop]

I gave this a spin last night and I've gotta say it is a return to form by Kenny G. The other Kenny G. The Kenny G who can play a little bit. His last disc was a tad smooth jazz-ish for me, but this is a return to straight-ahead form and some intense blowing that sounds actually a little left of center.

[Pharaohrock]

I think both Simply Said and Happy People get unrighteously trashed. The people who have a beef with those records have no perspective on how much more substantial the smooth-sounding cuts are than your average smooth jazz like Boney James or some honking drivel over a static beat like that.

I personally think, the music taken on its own terms instead of hand-wringing "dammit, this isn't songbook!" Kenny created some fantastic mood music on those records and I've played it for dates who thought it was just wonderfully lyrical and soothing music. I have to agree.

Then again, some folks have gotten so accustomed to bashing anything that sounds "smooth" to them that they don't bother to really listen. It's like a reflex reaction.

[Librarian]

I have to agree - Simply Said was a little bit of a shock coming after KG's hard blowing previous records. I jumped the gun and brought it back to the used store. But Happy People grew on me, especially the cuts with Bobby Hutcherson. It must be difficult as a musician to be pigeon holed as playing in one particular style. When you change, even a little bit, and move in another direction you will face criticism.

[Pharaohrock]

Jazz fans are notoriously unforgiving, in part I think because they feel that any efforts at populism signify a betrayal of their underground following. Does the music on Simply Said bother them or does it bother them more that there may be smooth jazz fans who actually like a Kenny Garrett record?? I think Simply Said is about as good of a crossover record as you'll hear. It's certainly very musical- it just doesn't conform to jazz fan's idea of what Kenny SHOULD be doing. If they had it their way Kenny would be on a permanent Songbook treadmill.

I think he's better for being a more diverse artist than that. I often wonder too if John Coltrane would not have eventually gone back to simpler melodic-based music like some that Garrett playes......there's a wax and wane, a yin and ying here folks. You play too much burnout and you get just that- "burned out." And then you want to chill.

[Hackensack]

Originally posted by Pharaohrock
Jazz fans are notoriously unforgiving, in part I think because they feel that any efforts at populism signify a betrayal of their underground following.

No offense, but this seems like "received wisdom" and a glib way to think, that has nothing to do with the jazz fans I know. Most of us are dismayed that so much of jazz--so clearly made by honest-to-go geniuses-- remains "underground." I'd like nothing more than to see Kenny Garrett on the Tonight Show, or the Grammys, playing jazz.

That has nothing to do with my distaste for Simply Said. KG may make better smooth jazz than Boney James, but I won't listen to it. I'm happy to take each of KG's recordings "on its own terms" and I want and expect him to do new and different things (how about a quintet album?), but he has managed to do that pretty well in the past. Pursuance, Triology, and Black Hope are all great in their own way, and keep an eye out for the General Music Project CDs on Evidence. What I've heard so far about the new one makes me optimistic, and you can bet that when he swings through LA, I'll be front and center.

In the meantime, if you really need to hear KG playing simpler melodic-based music, there's always Prisoner of Love.

[Pharaohrock]

You're right, that was a glib statement to make.

I just like some of the stuff on Simply Said and Happy People that others call smooth or schlock. Maybe I'm just corny. Or maybe I just know how to get my boogie on! (i hope it's the latter....lol.)

[Pharaohrock]

Or maybe I just don't care if anybody THINKS I'm corny. Some of this music grooves pretty hard folks. I hope more folks could open up to it.

[Cali]

Originally posted by Hackensack
In the meantime, if you really need to hear KG playing simpler melodic-based music, there's always Prisoner of Love.
Hear, hear! The title track of that album kills me everytime. It brings out some kind of primordial lust in me that I thought I had left in my adolescence....ahem, I mean it's quite stimulating.

Also, I agree on all your points. I, too, would like to hear some more quintet or larger ensembles headed by Kenny so that we could hear his harmonic developments.
And like you, Hackensack, I am anxiously awaiting Kenny's next performance in L.A. (I'm also layin' for Wayne)!

[jazzhound]

this new one is great. I haven't heard a recent release where the players play with such energy and bravora. this is music of the present. 5 stars!

[Hardbop]

I've gotta throw my two cents in here. I gave this one a spin the other day and I've gotta say it kills. Kenny kicks some serious ass with this disc. Up tempo stuff. Reminds of the last time I caught Kenny G -- the *real* Kenny G -- in Paris at the New Morning club in the fall of '01. Don't let the presence of Marcus Miller as producer scare you off. This one is *real* jazz.

[sal]

Well, I've owned it for about a month now, and after listening to it about 5 or 6 times, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this will be one of the top 5 jazz albums of the year. Kenny playing here is his toughest since Triology, IMO. I think the band is great. Chris Dave is one of the most exciting drummers to come around in a long time. I saw this band here in Chicago last fall and I think this disc captures that live energy. Five stars from me.

P.S. I loved Happy People! :D

[sal]

I don't want to get flamed for this.......but for some reason, listening to this album, the band reminds me a little bit of the classic Coltrane quartet.

[clifton]

Well it's been out for a few months now, and it has held up really well. I'm confident in saying that "Standard Of Language" will be on my Top Ten List for 2003, and maybe even my Top Five list.