http://my.hsj.org/Portals/2/logos/__TFMF_jjv02x45zj0t0t45diva4t45_2784d2f9-6ef8-42c6-b70b-9b4e28707312_0___Selected.jpg en-us Copyright 2008 - All Rights Reserved. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:28:26 GMT 15 By Asher Preska Steinberg
What is music? Music is a web of our dreams, aspirations, and thoughts. It is a quilt of what we love, what makes us feel safe, and what we want to be. Jazz fusion guitarist Bill Frisell describes music; “. . .there are all these things inside me that get out when they perform. It’s like a real world when I play, where I can do all the things I can’t do in real life.” For Kenny Garrett, in his musical world wanted to go to China and it ended up taking him there in the real world too.? In December (what year?) Kenny Garrett went on a journey to China for three weeks. He tried to get a feel for the culture, the life, and the music of China. He was driven by his curiousity, trying to blend into life there and absorb some of the culture and philosophy. Garrett says, “The people of China were so mysterious to me because they were so isolated, even in America, many choose to live in their own ‘Chinatown’ communities. I have read books on Chinese philosophy and intuitively felt that there is something in the culture for me. There is simplicity to Confucianism that I love. . .how in tune they are with nature and how something as simple as raking the leaves can put you in tune with the universe.” With these thoughts stirring in his mind, Kenny proceeded to compose music for a new set of songs, “Beyond the Wall”. He assembled a crew of new and old faces including Pharoah Sanders, Bobby Hutcherson, Brian Blade, Mulgrew Miller, Robert Hurst III, along with a slew of string players and vocalists on several other tracks. They really create some intensely interesting and dense sounding music. The pianist Garrett originally intending to have for the record was McCoy Tyner and the music is written is inspired by a lot of his playing. Lucky for Garrett, he found the very talented Mulgrew Miller who was heavily influenced my Tyner for the job. The CD starts out with a really heavy sound, almost as which ropes are pulling the musicians back. The two saxophones, Garrett and Sanders squeak out the theme as an almost tremor comes from the lower register of the piano. The moment is so strained, so contorted that it needs to release itself. It does as it gradually gets back into time, falling into a slow and heavy vamp in 6/8. You can just feel the energy as Brian Blade just wails on his set and Sanders and Garrett take a beautiful duet. The next song is the title track, “Beyond the Wall” which absolutely burns with intensity. It is very uptempo and the powerful rhythm section of Hurst III and Blade really drive the band as Sanders, Miller, and Garrett all release powerful solos. The next song “Qing Wen” is very powerful as well at mid-tempo, featuring a vocal section in it and Bobby Hutcherson on vibes. The high point of this song for me and maybe the entire album was probably Bobby Hutcherson’s solo on vibes as the vocal section sends these swells, these waves of sound behind him. Just listen to the opening bars of his solo, They are so melodic, so in the moment. The next tune is very interesting as well because he takes a piece of Chinese culture and makes it the core of the song. He takes a part of a Chinese chant and samples the line so it repeats continuously throughtout the piece. All the action takes place around that one simple melody as well. "Tsunami Song" is the next tune which is a ballad in which an erhu, a two-stringed Chinese instrument is featured playing a beautiful melody that really sings. The final two pieces close out the set well as the instruments blend beautifully with a great vocal section in "Kiss to the Skies". Finally the story comes to a close with "May Peace Be Upon Them" which twists and turns oddly as Garrett solos over a mesh of sounds that are not in rhythm. All in all the album paints a great picture of Kenny Garrett's strong connection to Chinese culture. It really gives the listener a strong taste of jazz with an oriental twist. This album is definitely worth a listen. ]]> Tue, 12 Jun 2007 14:26:00 GMT