Saxophonist Owen Broder and Quartet Dazzle at 1905 Jazz Club

Owen Broder at the 1905 Jazz Club

The multi-reed player Owen Broder is a new name to me. I was fortunate to get to see this musician and his quartet Friday April 11, 2025 at his first set show at the 1905 Jazz Club in Portland. Broder is a talented musician whose creativity bubbles up with modernity with each note he plays. But his respect for the tradition and those who blazed the path of this music before him becomes apparent when you witness his mastery and the reverence with which he plays his instrument.

Broder is a saxophonist/composer/educator with multiple skills on clarinet, baritone and soprano saxophones, and his main instrument, the alto saxophone. He grew up in Jacksonville, Florida and received his baccalaureate at the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York and his master's at the Manhattan School of Music in NYC. My personal unfamiliarity with this man's work in no way reflects on the well-received acclaim this artist has received for his previous work. He is a sought after section player in large-ensembles and has performed as a member of many prestigious orchestras including the Maria Schneider Orchestra, Ryan Truesdell's Gil Evan's Project, Miho Hazama's Orchestra and Anat Cohen's Grammy Nominated Tentet, to name a few.

Broder's own work as a leader includes his American Roots Project: Heritage from 2018, which Downbeat's Bobby Reed called it "A transcendent work of art."  His Cowboys and Frenchmen Quintet, which fellow JJA member and Downbeat critic Howard  wrote  “The ensemble is smart, cohesive, ... using virtuosic skills and rhythmic power to walk the line between irony and earnestness, with listenability as high a priority as group creativity.” His 2022 album Johnny Hodges: front and Center Vol 1, received multiple critical acclaim. Broder is  a respected educator that works as the Director of Jazz Studies at Reed College and as as an adjunct professor at Portland State and Pacific Universities.

Broder's esteemed career and his reputation for having a transcending sound on the alto, made his performance at the 1905 something I was looking forward to. 

Broder came with both a soprano and alto saxophone to the club, but at my set he concentrated on his burnished alto. The group were all local musicians that played with confidence and poise. Broder introduced the pianist Kerry Politzer on piano, Bill Athens on bass and Machado Mijiga on drums. Broder made it a point to explain to the receptive audience that tonight's music would be drawn predominantly from local Portland-based composers who he felt deserved attention. 

The music opened with a tune composed by local drummer/composer Rivah Ross. Ross's "Dare to Hope" is a driving piece of music that she released on her debut album of the same name in 2024. The music features a repeating main line that features roiling drum work by Mijiga supported by Athens anchored bass lines. It allows Broder's probing, yet silky alto, some creative space to stretch out and explore over the top. Politzer's piano featured repeating, percussive chord lines that had a Tyner-like influence to them. These like-minded musicians had developed a connection that only comes from familiarity and respect.

The remaining set included five additional Portland based compositions. One  from the dynamic drummer Machado Mijiga (whose title I missed); "Channeling" from local pianist/educator Todd Marston from his album Integer from 2022, which to me had a Bad Plus feel to it; the slinky, ethereal  "Venus" from inventive local guitar icon Dan Balmer, from his 2006 album Thanksgiving; one from arranger/saxophonist/composer Jessika Smith, a local educator whose music is originally composed to be played by a big band and claims Buddy Rich as one of her inspirations; and one from the local legend pianist/drummer/educator George Colligan's "Waiting for Solitude" which is a progressive piece from his brilliant 2013 release The Endless Mysteries. 

Despite the diversity of the music, the group showed familiarity and facility navigating the selections with poise, enthusiasm, and inspiration. Broder's skill is top notch, with liquid lines that pour out of his horn with purpose, creativity and tonal beauty. His mastery of tone was especially impressive when the group tackled the only composition that was not composed by a Portlander. On the Quincy Jones composition "Midnight Sun Will Never Set," Broder's horn was such a delight. His sound was rich, resonant and silky, and one couldn't help but compare the way he played with his cherished alto master predecessors like Desmond, Woods and  Johnny Hodges, whom Broder used for the inspiration of his fabulous album  Johnny Hodges: front and Center Vol 1 from 2022.

Let's not take anything away from Broder's compadres. Bill Athens provided some nice probing solos and anchored the rhythm throughout. Mijiga's trap and cymbal work provided powerful drive, but he also intuitively added subtle accenting to the music creating a textural base upon which his bandmates could rely. Politzer's piano work was rhythmically dynamic, with Shearing-like block chording alternating with graceful embellishments, trills and arpeggios that had a Errol Garner-like feel. Broder was the architect in control of this splendid evening of music. He is a calm driving force with thoughtful purpose in his approach. His liquid, tonal beauty flows like honey out of his horn at times, but he can also play incisively and with impressive facility. 

It will be a big loss for the music lovers of Portland when this talent leaves the area and relocates to the Washington DC area in the near future as he announced to the crowd. Portland's loss will be DC's gain and we wish him our sincerest best wishes for his continued success. 

Jim Snidero's latest musical excursion "Far Far Away " with Kurt Rosenwinkel

Jim Snidero Far Far Away Featuring Kurt Rosenwinkel
Savant SCD 2207

The altoist/composer Jim Snidero has recently released his latest album Far Far Away on Savant Records. When Jim sent me an email, to let me know he was getting a copy of this to me, he mentioned that he thought it was perhaps his best work ever. Needless to say, I was anxious to hear this for myself. 

Snidero is a beautifully articulate, expressive, and facile alto player in the line of a lineage that includes Paul Desmond, Cannonball Adderley, Sonny Stitt, and Phil Woods. 

Like his predecessors, Snidero seems to be on a personal quest. This restless man travels roads that may not often be taken by others. He experiments with varying musical concepts and alternates band configurations; he collaborates with a changing array of fellow musicians, always looking to hopefully add to the magic of the creative experience along the way. Through all the permutations, Snidero never forgets his tone, his clarity, his passionate articulation, and his vision.

Jim was raised in Maryland-Washington D.C. and was educated at the University of North Texas. If you wonder how Jim got his wonderful sound, it doesn't hurt to have studied with both the great altoist Phil Woods and multi-reedist master Dave Liebman.

Jim relocated to NY in 1981 where he cut his teeth with jazz organist Jack McDuff and where his talents became discovered. He eventually found work on the Mingus Big Band, The Toshiko Akiyoshi Big Band, Eddie Palmeri, and played on Frank Sinatra's Big Band from 1991-1995. He started his own quartet starting in 1984 and commenced recording as a leader. Like many musicians, Jim has also been an educator,  an adjunct instructor at the New School in NYC, and a visiting professor at both Princeton and Indiana University.

Snidero's recent releases have all featured Jim's sonorous alto. On his Project K, released in 2020, he is playing with a progressive group that includes trumpeter Dave Douglas, pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Linda May Han Oh, and drummer Rudy Royston. The biggest wild card on this album is the addition of Do Yeon Kim on the gayageum, a Korean stringed instrument. Following another artistic path, Snidero, in honor of his wife's Korean background and his own twenty-two-year familial immersion in the culture, seeks to discover the possible possible synergies that might exist between  Korean music and the jazz format. Snidero fosters collaborations like these, where the talent is diverse, creative, and open, and where unpredictable, unfamiliar twists can get your artistic fluids flowing and can inspire new musical possibilities! 

In 2021, Snidero changed his direction and went into writing, arranging, and playing on his ambitious orchestral project Strings. This project brought a whole new quartet with the inclusion of the brilliant Renee Rosnes on piano, Paul Gil on bass,  the dynamic Billy Drummond on drums, and an eleven-piece string section that was led by concertmaster Laura Seaton. The music is grand and sumptious. It has a splendid melodicity and vigor that reminds me of some of Phil Woods' work with Michel LeGrand. Jim also adds some breezy flute work that suspends over his arrangement of the swelling string sections. Hard to imagine this artist has anything left to prove after this creative tour de force.

Then again in 2021, Snidero tackled a "live" recording with his latest straight-ahead, hard bop  quartet of Orrin Evan on piano, Peter Washington on bass, and Joe Farnsworth on drums titled Live at the Deer Head Inn.  This cooking album was named one of Downbeat's Best Releases of 2021 and I also included it in my best-of-year list for that year. The group was just on fire and the added impetus of an enthusiastic audience captured on the recording made the session all the more rewarding. What else canbe expected to come out of the fertile musical box that is Jim Snidero's mind? 

On Far Far Away,  Snidero changes it up again. This time he is joined by the progressive guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel along with his potent Deer Head Inn band members, Orrin Evans, Peter Washington, and Joe Farnsworth. It's hard to imagine this group, which showed an admirable telepathic connection in the previous "live" album as a quartet, could embrace the added inventiveness of  Rosenwinkel's ethereal approach to the music, but it was almost like he was always an integral part of the group.  These pros simply meshed like the gears in a fine Swiss timepiece.

Rosenwinkel adds a new sense of adventure to this music with his airy creative approach. His mastery of enhanced electronic tone and his fretboard fluidity on the guitar is the perfect foil to Snidero's precise, articulate, and earnest alto. With a rhythm section like Evans, Washington, and Farnsworth these two find the table set for their dual and solo explorations. 

On Snidero's opening composition, "Far Far Away,"  Rosenwinkel comes out of the gate with a searing synth-like opening that just revs the music into high gear. Farnsworth's roiling drum work just accelerates in sync with the guitarist bringing the music to a combustible temperature. Snidero's alto pierces into the fray on the next solo with authority and command. Evan's piano work is on target with equal enthusiasm and Washington's bass is like a stabilizing heart beat anchor to the proceedings.

"Infinity" is another Snidero composition that has the altoist opening up with a more lamenting attack. Rosenwinkel's guitar replies with his own tailored guitar lines that contrast brilliantly to the mood previously created by Snidero. The contrast between these two voices is distinct and yet complimentary. They are able to navigate the same wave they attack using different musical surfboards, plying different riding techniques, and still wind up riding through the crest brilliantly.

To hear these two attack a reharmonizing of the Rodgers and Hammerstein composition "It Might Be Spring" is another gem. This is the most traditional take on the album, with Rosenwinkel presenting his intro using the least modified guitar tone on the set and Jim's burnished, luxurious sound is just captivating. The two find common ground here and Rosenwinkel's chops are fast, loose, and a joy to behold.

There are five other songs on this exceptional album including the challenging "Nowhere to Hide," and the latent funk of  "Obsession," The blues-spirited "Pat" -a dedication to recently departed guitar wizard Pat Martino-  gives Evans some nice stretch-out time to work his blues-tinged magic on the ivories. Other highlights are a fleet-fingered solo by Rosenwinkel, and a potent bass solo by Washington. The swinging "Little Falls" ends the remaining  Snidero compositions. 

McCoy Tyner's potent "Search for Peace" is a beautiful vehicle for Snidero to ply his warm sound to great effect. Washington's pliant bass lines are beautifully on display here and Kurt's electronically altered guitar lines accentuate the mood sparkingly.

Far Far Away may just be, as Jim wrote to me, his best work to date!  Let's just hope this group makes a follow-up to this thoroughly impressive collaborative recording.

Mike DiRubbo Quartet live at Smalls; Patience pays

Mike DiRubbo Quartet Live at Smalls  Sl-0058

The alto saxophonist Mike DiRubbo has been on the verge of a breakout for some time.  The now forty-eight-year-old alto saxophonist has a clean, biting sound. One is reminded of one of his mentors, the late Jackie McLean. DiRubbo began his musical studies on clarinet and eventually moved to his instrument of choice, the alto, when he was twelve.  A life changing experience with the Mitchell-Ruff group while he was still in high school convinced him that music was his life’s calling. After high school, DiRubbo studied at McLean’s Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford in his home state of Connecticut. McLean saw something in the young man’s playing that reminded him of himself. The master’s intuition has proven to be prophetic.  DiRubbo graduated from Hartt in 1992 and after working for a couple of years with local musicians in Connecticut, he eventually made his way to the Mecca of jazz, New York City, in 1997.

DiRubbo has sharpened his skills on the whetstone of gigging with some of New York’s premier jazz players like Al Foster, Jimmy Cobb, Harold Mabern, Eddie Henderson, John Hicks, Peter Washington and Carl Allen to name a few. His hard work has paid off giving him a distinctive hard-edged sound that both honors the tradition and launches the music into the era of modernity.  The critics have noticed. DiRubbo has been a nominee for Downbeat’s Rising Star on Alto Saxophone for the last six years running.

He has worked extensively as a sideman on albums led by modern artists like  trombonist Steve Davis, keyboardist Brian Charette, trumpeter Jim Rotondi and bassist Mario Pavone. The altoist has released several albums as a leader and started his own record label, Ksanti in 2011. Ksanti means “patience” in Sanskrit and with such an impressive resume and his latest release, Mike DiRubbo Quartet Live at Smalls, that patience may finally be rewarded with the accompanying recognition that he so richly deserves.

As the title implies this is a “live’ recording, capturing the moment of spontaneity and excitement that happens when a group is in sync and spurred on by an appreciative audience. This release is very current having been recorded at Smalls Jazz Club in Greenwich Village in December of 2017. The group is stellar. Pianist Brian Charette sheds his organ and synthesizers for a night of acoustic piano and the results are impressive. The rhythm section of Ugonna Okegwo and Jonkuk Kim keep the energy high and pulsing.  Smalls, ans an intimate, basement club that has a capacity of sixty, is the perfect venue to listen to and appreciate a group like this. You get a chance to get upfront and personal with the band. A chance to listen and watch undistracted as DiRubbo and his group explore the possibilities of the compositions that they play.

The music is straight-ahead post-Coltrane, hard-bop and it is delivered with a raw edged authenticity that captures your attention. All the songs are written by DiRubbo- the one exception is John Abercrombie’s beautiful ballad “As it Stands,” and to be fair ,“Pent-Up Steps” is a take on Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”

From the driving opening bars of “Hope” you get the sense that this is going to be a special set of music. There is a Coltrane intensity and DiRubbo’s horn, at times almost sounds like a tenor; sharp, sometimes ragged, ripping through the lines like a serrated knife through crusty bread.Okegwo’s pulsating bass lines lead the way.Charette’s piano comps are thoughtful and measured and he offers a shimmering solo of cascading notes. Drummer Kim is a bundle of cacophony that keeps the proceedings percolating just to the brink of a boil.

“Details” uses a repeating rhythmic motif over which DiRubbo’s alto blows, first stating the line and then exploring its modal possibilities. You can hear the strong influence of his mentor Jackie McLean here. His notes are articulated like short staccato stabs, often accentuated with snare drum jabs by drummer Kim. When the altoist goes off, his cutting sound connects longer runs of notes played with a force that implies urgency. Charette takes an inspired solo that features a flow of notes that pour from his keyboard like the water of rushing stream before setting up for a pensive bass solo by Okewgo. As the song closes DiRubbo reaches the higher register with intense wailing sounds that are reminiscent of some of Pharoah Sanders’ plaintive cries.

The cd continues with “A Blues.”  The song has a swinging feel and each musician takes a turn in the solo spotlight. Okewgo’s bass is strong and pulsing and Charette's musings hold your interest with an economy of notes and some nice tremolo effects. DiRubbo’s alto is sinewy, his facility always at the ready to produce a flurry of notes when the mood suits him, or he will dynamically leave some space when effective.

“Moving In” is a soulful, ruminative ballad that features some of DiRubbo’s most sensitive playing. The rhythm section holds down the waltz-like pace as the altoist is given a chance to wander around the melody expressing a variety of ideas that all have an emotional appeal. His horn pleading in its tone and phrasing. Okwego’s bass is robust, dancing around the rhythm in a free-spirited prance that is loose but never loses the tempo.

“Pent-up Steps” is a derivative of Coltrane’s “Giant Steps” and shows the group in top form. DiRubbo’s alto navigates the changes with a slipstream ease. Gushes of sound come pouring out of his horn in deluge of ideas, building in intensity, surging with screeching, high-register notes at the apex of his solo. The rhythm section keeps the pace and defines the changes.  Pianist Charette artfully offers a series of beautifully executed ascending and descending runs. Drummer Kim, given his chance to shine, produces a polyphony of beats accented by some shimmering cymbal work, before the group heads for the exit at the coda.

The late guitarist John Abercrombie had a way of composing endearing music that often had a touch of introspective melancholy to it.  It’s no wonder that the group rises to the occasion and delivers one of their most memorable performances on his composition “As it Stands.” DiRubbo’s alto is particularly moving, his tone and attack delivering the pensive, moody feel with great insight and authentic feeling. Charette’s poignant solo is a highlight and Okwego’s bass sings with its own sense of deeply felt emotion.

The final song of the cd is “Archangel.” DiRubbo uses the thumping beat of Okwego’s bass, the roiling drums of Kim and the deftly placed comp chords of Charette to go off in an intense, ‘sheets of sound’ deluge of notes on his horn.
As the record memorializes,this is a group that thrives in the intimate setting of a club like Smalls. The chemistry is potent and DiRubbo delivers a set of  powerful music that relishes intensity while still leaving room for the sensitivity that a good ballad requires.

Big Man with a Big Horn : An Interview with Saxophonist Sherman Irby

Sherman Irby's Big Mama's Biscuits

If you have ever had a chance to catch Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra “live”, it’s a good bet you have seen the larger than life presence of Sherman Irby upfront in the saxophone section. He is the one who envelopes his alto saxophone with a grizzly bear embrace, making the instrument look almost toy-like in his hands. A superb musician who has a soulful, fluid sound and an innate sense of swing, his bellowing laugh and cheerful personae are just two other reasons to enjoy this affable personality.

Irby grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama where gospel and blues made up the predominant music of his early childhood. Making the leap from a teenager playing Gospel in the Reverend James Cleveland’s band to a front line player in the JALC orchestra jazz is a tale best told by the man in his own words. I interviewed Mr. Irby by phone on February 5, 2016 while he was touring with the JALC band in Europe. He spoke to me while he walking the streets in France just after a gig.

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Sherman Irby (photo credit unknown)

NOJ: Sherman, thank you for calling and interrupting your busy schedule while touring in Europe, I appreciate it. 

First let's start with where you grew up, Tuscaloosa, Alabama arid what got you interested in music?

SI: Well I grew up with Gospel and blues being the predominant influences that I was listening to in early childhood. By ninth grade I was influenced by two teachers who both played trumpet. One was a big Miles Davis fan and the other a Freddie Hubbard follower so that was a good foundation for jazz.

NOJ: What about the Muscle Shoals sound did that influence at all?

SI: Not really that music was further North and so it really wasn't an influence for me. One of my high school teachers, Dr. Thompson, his brother played in Muscle Shoals a lot, he was a saxophone player, but only heard him once. I played with the reverend James Cleveland (known as the King of Gospel) when I was in high school so that was a strong pull on me early on.

NOJ: What made you choose the alto? 

Grover Washington Jr's Mister Magic

SI: I heard Grover Washington. My aunt had the Mister Magic record and 1 looked at the cover and 1 liked it. Grover Washington was everywhere at that time. You could hear his playing Winelight on "One Life to Live" or "General Hospital" and he would be playing in the background. I just decided "the alto please." I started to learn all his solos when he played songs and all of that, but when I heard Bird that changed my whole vibe.

NOJ: When was that?

SI: That was in the eleventh grade. I heard him on the college radio station. University of Alabama had a radio station that would play jazz like at one o'clock in the morning. I heard Bird play the "52nd St. Theme" "and that just blew my mind. I never heard the alto played like that.

NOJ: So your first influence was Grover then came Bird. That is sort of a reverse history.
                                                 
SI: Yeah, because of the time, those sounds are what pulled me in. That is what you heard like David Sanborn who was also a big influence of mine back then. When I got to see Grover, I told him how much of an influence he was on me.

NOJ: He was great. He was mainstream, but more than mainstream, he bridged the gap.

SI: Oh yeah he was the real deal. I love him.

NOJ: You got into Bird, what about another altoist like Cannonball Adderley. I know you did an album, Work Song—Dear Cannonball? 

Sherman Irby's Work Song-Dear Cannonball

Cannonball Adderley (photo credit unknown)

SI: Yeah, I mean who doesn't play alto and love Cannonball Adderley. Cannonball is the man. I like the swing feel that he plays. The way he uses harmonies, especially after he played with Miles and 'Trane and the band. They just started trading and learning from each other. The way he approached it was very interesting.

NOJ: So he came from Florida, but you never heard him growing up?

SI: Not at all. That wasn't until college when I got a chance to listen to his recordings.

NOJ: What about Jackie McLean?

SI: I heard Jackie McLean when I was in college. I heard him in I believe it was Piedmont Park (Atlanta). I remember he donned the stage; he had a white suit on. I think Freddie (Hubbard) was supposed to be on the gig with him, but Freddie didn't show up. He played the whole gig by himself. Cedar was playing piano, Billy Higgins (on drums), I don't know who it was on bass, it might have been David Williams. Hearing him play that alto, I had to meet him afterwards, and his son Rene was so cool with me. We walked around town together,he told me a bunch of stories, and we had a real understanding. Jackie gave me a book with his warm up that I still use, that I teach kids today. A warm up that really changed my sound.

NOJ: So Jackie did influence you? 
  

Jackie McLean (photo credit unknown)

SI: Oh yeah sure.

NOJ: So now I'm hearing Grover and David and Cannonball and Bird and Jackie. What about outlier altos like Lee Konitz?

SI: Yeah I heard Lee a little bit later. See I like Paul Desmond. In high school that is what I affiliated with jazz until I heard Bird. I liked the way Paul Desmond's sound was, I mean I studied classical saxophone, and there was something about his sound. He used a vibrato more like Donald Sinta and Eugene Rousseau who I listen to a lot. So I dug him. Really and truly during and after college my main influences were trumpet players- Dizzy Gillespie, Kenny Dorham and Donald Byrd. Donald Byrd was first, and then Kenny Dorham and Dizzy just kind of took over. They had such command of harmony and rhythm and soul. I had to get some of that.

NOJ: Where did you go to college?

SI: I went to Clark Atlanta University. I studied under Dr. James Paterson, a saxophone player.

NOJ: I just moved to Atlanta from the Northeast and recently did an interview with Gary Motley from Emory University.

SI: That's my man.

NOJ: Clark has that radio station,WCLK(Clark Atlanta Jazz Radio) that many local people are apparently moanin' about because it changed its format and now plays a formulaic playlist. Are you familiar with that?

SI: it's frustrating. I'll tell you how it was. That was the place for us, guys who were learning jazz at Clark. There was a DJ or he was a program director, his name was Bobby Jackson. Bobby Jackson was originally from the Cleveland Ohio area, he came to Atlanta and had a big influence on us young jazz musicians who really didn't know anything. I used to come by his radio station during his show. He would say to me "take a record." I would pick a record, he would say "read it out loud, read it and now give me the record and I am going to play some tunes for you." "You need to know who Ernie Henry was; you need to know who Donald Bird was." and so on. I learned so much from that man.

NOJ: Interesting a DJ?

Bobby Jackson

SI: That's right a DJ and I'm finding out there is a lot of musician; out here who have also learned from them in every city that they went to.

NOJ: Since you studied here in Atlanta I know you know that the area has many music schools and jazz programs in the area like Clark where you went but also, Emory, Kennesaw State and Georgia Tech to name a few. But the sad truth is there are so few places for these student musicians to play.

SI: It's so different when I was there; things were starting to breakdown at that time. Russell Malone was there, we talk about it all the time. There were older musicians there who would stay on you and cuss you out. They would make sure you would learn the right stuff. My greatest teacher was Danny Harper; he is still there. He is a trumpeter who teaches at Miles College in Birmingham, Alabama, but still lives in Atlanta. Danny taught me so much about the music and about what being a jazz musician was all about. about having the integrity to play the music.

NOJ: After college how did you progress as a musician? What was your trajectory?

SI: I had received my degree in music education, but I didn't want to teach at the time. Personally I thought that if I started at a band program like at a school I would probably still be there now thirty years later, because that is usually how it happens. I start working at a parking lot, parking cars and doing valet parking. At night time I was playing in Atlanta and I landed a gig with Johnny O'Neal the piano player. Taurus Mateen the bassist who now plays with Jason Moran, and used to play with Freddie(Hubbard). So he told Johnny about me. He told me to come and play and Johnnie's going to love you. So I came and played and Johnny said "you are part of the band." That was a step in my education. That was in 1992. I graduated Clark in 1991.

Johnny O'Neal

NOJ: So that was your first working gig?

SI: Yeah that was my first true working gig. I left there as the scene had changed, places started closing up. "Jeff's Jazz," that was a great jazz club in Atlanta, closed down. Johnny O'Neal left and I needed work, so a friend of mine called me and told me about the cruise ships, he said he could get me in on that. So I went down to Florida and I started working for Carnival Cruise.

NOJ: Plus you must have been exposed to and played with so many guys, right?

SI: I met so many guys my friend Andre Rice, who I went to college with, he is still with the Basie band. There were a lot of guys there, that's how I met Russell Gunn. I remember when he left to go to New York and join the big band Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. So I used that time to study on the cruise ships. I needed to prepare myself, I wanted to come to New York. I studied tunes, I studied style I worked on my clarinet and my flute. Just trying to get focused and ready, save a little money and be ready for New York. I came to new in 1994.

NOJ: Is that when you came to join the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra?

SI: No I came with no gig. I came here and was completely broke within two weeks. I heard musicians at "Smalls" and I got in and started playing and started to get a reputation.

NOJ: At "Small's" you were playing in the trio and quartet format right?

SI: Yeah trios, quartets, jam sessions everything under the sun.

NOJ: That was more like hard bop going on?

SI : Yeah mostly and original compositions too. We were playing off each other's tunes. It was a real leaning and sharing of information that was going on there. That was 1994 basically to 1995. In the middle of 1995 I joined the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. I did some gigs with Wynton (Marsalis) and I joined the band and I did that for two and a half years. Off time I was still playing at "Small's" and other clubs in the area. I then left that band to join Roy's Hargrove) band. That was an experience. That was probably the best musical experience I ever had, especially in a small group setting nothing even to compare to that. In that band we had Gerald Cannon on bass, Willie Jones III on drums and Larry Willis on piano along with me and Roy. There were other variations in the very beginning, Ron Blake was still there, and we had a long period of time when Frank Lacy was with us.

NOJ: What kind of music were you playing then?

SI: I hate to put a label to it, but mainly hard bop but anything from bebop, to hard bop and even some funk to it at the end. It was mainly a vision that Roy had, kind of based on what Cedar Walton was doing, everybody was kind of following that mood at the time. After that I was fortunate to join, at the end, Elvin Jones’ band. He had Carlos McKinney on piano, Gerald Cannon on bass, Mark Shim on tenor and sometimes Delfeayo Marsalis on trombone. Then I started to do more things on my own. I was with Blue Note records for a while. I was doing gigs and started playing with Papo Vasquez and his Mighty Pirates Troubadours, another completely different experience. Papo is one of the Latin Jazz all-stars. He played with everybody from Dizzy Gillespie's United Nation's Orchestra to Tito Puente for many years. He has done all kind of stuff. He is a true master; he plays trombone in the band. When Duane Eubanks left I took over his spot. I played with Elvin at his last gig at Yoshi's in California. That was in 2004.

NOJ: Did you guys record anything with Elvin?

SI: No. We were supposed to go to Japan and come back and play the Blue Note in New York and he passed away before that. He was my heart. He used to like to pick me up all the time, the biggest guy in the room he liked to pick them up.

NOJ: You are a big man and when you hold that little alto you like smother that horn. You remind very much of Cannonball with the way he almost bear-hugged his horn. You have a lot of soul coming out of that horn.

SI: Thank you.

NOJ: Tell me about your experience with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra?

SI: It was something else. There is nothing else like it in the world. We played music from all different styles. You find out how great this music is by playing all the different scores we play. You get to understand how great a musician Don Redmond was, you get to realize how killing Benny Goodman's band really was. You understand the writing style and artistry of Duke Ellington and what he was able to accomplish in his life. You understand the history of the music arid how it relates to what we were doing in the nineties and how it relates to the future. The more you study the past the more you understand where you have been and where you are going. It's been the biggest education for me, not only are you playing with the best musicians in the world-most all of them have been leaders in their own right- but we all come together to do this. Most of us actually arrange and do a great deal of the music for the band.

NOJ: So it is more organic and less repertoire?

SI: Yeah it never stops. Right now I am trying to finish my ballet (based on Dante's Inferno) that I started in 2013. We performed the first act in 2013 and now we are looking at finishing the next two acts and performing those. Ted Nash is putting out another big project he did called "the Presidential Suite." There is a lot of things like that that propels the music for yard while still swinging and deep in the blues. It is like an experience of a lifetime to be able to do all of that.

NOJ: What is it like to play in a big band as a section player as opposed to play as a solo artist in front of your rhythm section in a smaller format? 

Saxophone Section of JALC

SI: In the big band you are playing the music as it is written in front of you, but you are communicating with people all across the bandstand and finding your place within it. It is like life, you are on this big Earth and you are part of it and what you do affects everybody else. You're trying to find your space within that but to groove with everybody else so we achieve a common goal of Peace and Love. It's that kind of feeling. So you are part of a community of people just trying to go in the same direction and it's hip. The economics has made it harder to hear this sound and develop this. It is a shame that that has become an issue. I am glad that we are able to do it and we are starting to inspire more and more people to start groups and do more big bands. It's good for the music. The music was started with it — the bands of Count Basie and Duke Ellington- before all these small groups got going it was the big bands that started that sound. We need that now so I am glad I am part of that now. 

NOJ: I just did a piece that featured three big band albums and demonstrated how they were ushering in a new era of big band music. It's interesting to see this despite the economics.

SI: The music was built and flourished during the depression, so we can make things work when there isn't a lot of money. We have to have the verve to do it.

NOJ: Right know we are speaking to you and you are in France with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Is this a European tour?

SI: Yes, we are on a six-week tour that will take us throughout Europe and then we are on to Australia and New Zealand.

NOJ: That is quite a whirlwind and then you come home and will be playing with your own group at Dizzy's in New York?

SI: I am coming back on the thirteenth of March. Then I have a week off and then we play Dizzy's March 24th through the 27th. I start the gig on my birthday March 24th. I will be forty-eight so it should be fun. I'm trying to slow down this year. 

NOJ: Who will be playing with you on that gig?

SI: Eric Red will be on piano, Gerald Cannon on bass, Willie Jones s III on drums and Vincent Gardner on trombone. It is a band that I started doing the music of Art Blakey. We did a three-night stand at Dizzy's about three years ago. It is an unusual style because its alto and trombone and I like the way it works. Vincent has that thing so it works. I'm going to stick with this band, we call it "Momentum" and we are going to keep it going.

NOJ: Are you writing more? You mentioned you’re still working on your ballet.

SI: Yes, I am doing a lot of writing, actually I’m going back to my room now and continue working on the ballet. For the gig in March I am going to write most of the music for that featuring the band. With the big band I am finishing the ballet which is based on Dante's Divine Comedy. We performed the Inferno already and I am working on Purgatory and Paradise. We are talking about releasing the whole finished work in the next two years.

NOJ: I let you get back to your hotel and off the streets. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you.

An Interview with the Saxophonist Kenny Garrett April 16, 2015

Kenny Garrett photo by Ralph A. Miriello

The saxophonist Kenny Garrett has been a prominent voice on the alto saxophone for several years. At age fifty-four, Garrett, is in the sweet spot of his musical career. He has honed his skills the old fashioned way, he’s earned it with a career spanning close to four decades and associations with some of jazz’s most celebrated creators. Garrett started in the Duke Ellington Band with Cootie Williams, was a member of The Mel Lewis Orchestra, and played in Charles Mingus alum Dannie Richmond’s band. He was a member of the Art Blakey School of music and gigged with iconic all stars Woody Shaw, Freddie Hubbard and Joe Henderson. Perhaps his most dogged association is with Miles Davis. Garrett played for the legendary band leader for the last five years of Davis’ life. 

Today Garrett is the consummate professional and certainly his own man. His most recent two albums, Seeds from the Underground and Pushing the World Away are proof in point. Both albums were nominated for Grammy awards under the category of “Best Instrumental Jazz Album”.   Both feature Garrett compositions that pay homage to some of his influences. “J Mac” from Seeds from the Underground   is dedicated to alto great Jackie McLean. The song was nominated for a Grammy in the “Best Instrumental  Solo “ category.  “Wiggins,” also from Seeds, is a bow to Garrett’s former high school band and private teacher Bill Wiggins. “Do Wo Mo” is a three way tribute to Duke Ellington, Woody Shaw and Thelonious Monk,  all important influences. On his most recent album Pushing the World Away, Garrett continues in the same vein with  compositions dedicated to longtime  friend Chick Corea, “Hey Chick;” mentor the late Mulgrew Miller, “ A Side of Hijiki;” Sonny Rollins, “J’ouvert;” and his producer Donald Brown on “Brother Brown.”

Garrett, no stranger to recognition, has garnered no less than eight wins in the ”Best Alto Saxophonist”category  of the annual Downbeat polls. Despite an innate desire to be creative with his music he is always aware of his audience. We talked to the saxophonist by telephone on April 16, 2015.

NOJ: I am a big fan of your music. Your last two albums were pretty moving and I think you sort of bridged the gap, for people who are not quite willing to go far mainstream as people like Robert Glasper, but yet still produce solid improvisational music that has a wider appeal. I am not sure if you have been trying to consciously do that, but I think it is working.

KG: Well no actually I just play the music as I hear it. Some of my heroes in the music that I have heard, people like McCoy, and Trane and Sonny Rollins and people like that, that is the music that I hear, so I try to write what I am hearing and that ( my music)  is really a reflection of that.

NOJ: In interviews you have said that your musical path emerged by working with the elders and that now musicians are taking a more academic approach to learning jazz. Is this more academic approach affecting, what I would call the social connectivity that jazz used to have with its audience and is the music becoming too esoteric for its own good?

KG: See, I think every generation has to define the music. … I always like to tell the story, I was recording this CD  and the tune was called “Ain't Nothing But the Blues”  and when I wrote the song I was thinking about Miles Davis, BB King and Bone Thugs- N- Harmony, it’s a hip hop group. So Bobby Hutcherson was recording with me and he says to me, “ You’re  kidding me, is that the blues?”  I said to myself it’s the blues all day long, but with that being said, I guess because( he was from a different generation)  he heard it totally different. To me it had trickled down a little bit differently he said “Wow is that the blues?” Sometime when I hear music I say “Is that jazz?” So every generation kind of has to come to terms or get a grip on to how the music is moving differently than you might want it to move and I am the same way.

(The music)  Its moving, it’s a different way of learning it. I  come through the university so I don’t really look at it that way.  Actually the blessing is that I got to play with the greats. I played with people like Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Cootie Williams, Donald Byrd, Art Blakey, and Dizzy Gillespie when you think of that, you kind of hold onto that as something dear. I think it is a little different approach to the music. That’s neither good nor bad, it is what it is.  Others are trying to find it their way. The way I learned it, I learned from more of an almost an African tradition, it was passed down. It is not really passed on now as I did it. There are people, musicians who are teaching it ( in universities), they have actually been in the forefront, but it is just another approach.

NOJ: I want to get back to a point. To paraphrase a famous line attributed to Duke Ellington that there are only two kinds of music , good music and everything else. Do jazz musicians today get stuck on playing music for themselves and not making it entertaining enough for a broader audience?

KG: I think that depends on the generation. I think if you are in a laboratory and you come from a university and you are in a laboratory and that’s the way you’re assimilating it then that’s the way it might be. I think everybody is different. Our jazz has always been the same. People have always been saying, jazz musicians are playing for themselves.  Some of that is true, I think even for myself,  some of it is true I am playing for myself, but also I am cognizant that the audience is there. What I  would like for the audience to experience is this journey that I would like to take them on. It is not that I don’t acknowledge them, I definitely acknowledge them, I am hoping that this music will touch them in some way, even if they have never heard me before, I am hoping it will touch them. …I hear a lot of young people come up to me and say I never heard music like this before. I say to them it’s a little different because these are my experiences that I am presenting to you. You can’t expect a younger musician who hasn’t had that many experiences to really come up with something like that at this point. You’re going to have to wait, and I m sure that is what some people say about me. Ha ha.

NOJ: I read several interviews where you said that Pharaoh Sanders, who is a well know contemporary of John Coltrane, said he sees a lot of John in your playing. Do feel that connection and do you consciously try to achieve that connection or is it something that comes out of you because of his influence?

KG: I think for me it simply comes out of me. I look at a lot of times, when Pharaoh and I play together it’s so uncanny. A lot of times, because he played alto before he played tenor, we’ll go and play the same notes. Sometimes I am in his register or he is in mine and one of us will have to go higher.

 Of course, John  Coltrane is one of my heroes, there is no denying that, but I think I can still kind of find a way to get to that feeling ( that John had) in my music. So I am always looking for that feeling, I guess (it’s) that spiritual quality, really just a feeling that brought me to the music. I remember when I was a kid, I used to basically take all my forty-fives, I would hide them, and then during Christmas time I would pull them out and I would play all of them. They would fill me up. It was a very emotional feeling that I got. When I listen to music I would love to hear that. So when I am playing music I am trying to get back to that emotional experience that I had when I was a kid. 

NOJ: What kind of forty fives were you listening to?

KG: I would listen to anything, any of my favorite records, some R & B and some jazz. Coming from my home, my father was listening to jazz and my mother was listening to Motown so I had both. Any of my favorite records , it could have been Kool and the Gang, Maceo Parker , it could have been James Brown that feeling was  what I was looking for every time. When I start thinking about music, I say to myself, I wonder if I can bring that feeling back, for people to experience what I was experiencing at the time.

NOJ: Which was joy, it was real joy, right?

KG: It’s really joy. That is what I am hoping for. Everybody gets something different from it. The core of what I am trying to get people to understand, I think it gets there. When you travel people always  come up to me after a show and ask  “What is it that I was experiencing? It’s something but we can’t really put our finger on it.” To me that’s good because at least it’s something that they feel. They don’t have to be able to explain it, as long as I know you can feel something from it, then I think mission is accomplished.

NOJ: Well you obviously are doing something right. You received Grammy nominations for your last two albums Seeds from the Underground and Pushing the World Away .  These alums paid homage to some of the people who made an impression on your life and both had critical and general appeal.  What’s next for you after having looked back from where you came?

KG: I think that a lot of people were saying I looked back, but if you check out my cds I’ll always look back. I always acknowledge.  Seeds was acknowledging a lot of people. Most of the cds it might be just one person, maybe two people, maybe I might play some songs that remind me of someone. But I am always doing that , I always do that because I  always feel blessed that I had the opportunity to play with Miles, Freddie and Woody . I mean these guys…if I had come up at a different time I think it would have been something different, but to acknowledge that and to acknowledge people. There was a tenor saxophonist from Detroit, his name was Bobby Barnes, and he gave me a couple of lessons and I tracked him down just to thank him. He said, I really did (something for you), and I said the lesson that you gave me was an important lesson, because I still use it today. Sometimes it’s not the person that you think it is it’s another person who gave you something new. So I am always grateful for that. I wouldn't be here if there wasn’t a little struggle, I was working hard, but definitely their input was very important, it’s always important.

NOJ: I love that song “Wiggins” from Seeds, that was such a hot number  and I guess it was dedicated to one of your onetime school  band leader?

KG:  Bill Wiggins was my high school band director but I also took private lessons with Bill. Bill studied with Larry Teal, who is a classical saxophonist. Joe Henderson studied with Larry Teal, Vinnie Martin studied with Larry Teal. Brother Yusef ( Lateef) studied with Larry Teal. So the thing was I wanted to play with Larry Teal and Bill said you don’t have to study with Larry Teal I studied with Larry Teal. I wanted to go to Cass Tech which was the best school to be in, he said you don’t have to go to Cass Tech I went to Cass Tech and I will teach you. He was one of the cats along with Marcus Belgrave who really helped me. Wiggins was the one who actually sent me to Marcus to try to learn more.

NOJ: To go back to Coltrane for one second. What was the first recording of John Coltrane that you heard that really moved you?

KG: Actually it was a recording; I think it was called the Blowing Session with Johnny Griffin, Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, Art Blakey, I’m not sure who was playing piano on there, but I remember  playing on “All the Things You Are” and Johnny Griffin was killing, he was playing all this stuff, you know how Johnny plays, and Trane he was playing one note and ah man it’s all over. For me it was over he just  played one note, you got to be kidding me.

NOJ: Yeah, economy can sometimes be a very powerful thing and lost on some people.  You once related that Miles said to you “You sound like you are wearing Sonny Stitt’s dirty drawers.”

KG: (Laughing)

Sonny Stitt

NOJ: (Laughing) You know Kenny what you say on line can come back to haunt you.

KG: (Still Laughing) You know that’s the truth.

NOJ:  Was that a fair comparison at the time and were you trying to emulate Stitt?

KG:  Well no I don’t actually think I sounded anything like Stitt, but I think for him, I think that is what he heard. Of course I did listen to Sonny Stitt, but I don’t think… I was listening to  Bird and Cannonball and Sonny Criss, but I think for Miles , you know he heard that.

NOJ: Stitt was famously lost in Charlie Parker’s sound which was hard for him to get away from. He was a great player but it was hard for him to be under that shadow.

KG: Well of course.  I think a lot of musicians were able to discern Stitt rather than Bird, which is what I’ve heard. A lot of musicians were able to get that. But I think for me growing up in Detroit if you play alto you have know about Charlie Parker.

NOJ: As a musician who is now at the top of their game, it must be liberating to know you can proceed in any musical direction and be able to accomplish whatever you are trying to achieve. What musical challenges do you still want to conquer?

KG:  So many things I would really like to attempt to do, it’s just really the timing, but what would I like to do? Something I would like to do is to record a cd with strings. Something I would like to do is record with some Japanese Kabuki musicians. I mean there are a lot of things, but it depends if I have a lot of time to really prepare for it. Everything is moving so quickly, If I had the time to really go in and research and do it like I kind of  research I did  with Beyond the Wall for example.   So it depends on where I am at the time.

NOJ: You have played with the Five Peace Band and the live album actually won you a Grammy in 2010. With the exception of Christian ( McBride)  and Vinnie ( Colauita,) you , John () and Chick () had all played with Miles. Did you guys feel like you took what Miles started and brought it to a new level?

Five Peace Band

KG:  I m not sure what their goal was, but to me it was a learning experience. Playing with John, he has a lot of information. He has studied a lot of Raga, Indian music. Chick and I we have a relationship so that was great, but I can’t say what direction they were trying to go in. That would have to be something you would have to ask them. I took initially that we would all contribute to the music, but it ended up  (being) more Chick and John doing most of the writing, which  in the long run actually helped me. We had one song  and it was fifteen ( time)  and I really wasn’t  playing a lot of odd meters at the time. It was a learning experience playing with John.  Chick and I have been friends a long time, but musically I couldn't really say if they were trying to take it to the next level or not.

NOJ: You are primarily an alto player, but you are also a formidable soprano player. I read that you once played John Coltrane’s soprano.  Did that experience lead you to embrace the instrument?

KG:  No actually, when I played with Miles there were a lot of saxophone players asking me why I wasn’t playing soprano. I really just didn't hear it, at that time I was focusing on my alto playing and trying to find my voice, but then eventually … I don’t think with Miles I ever played any soprano, but then later I got a soprano and started to practice with it and that’s what happened.  I’m surprised you heard about my playing Coltrane’s soprano.

NOJ: What do you like about the soprano’s voice as opposed to the alto?

Kenny Garrett on Soprano

KG:  I think my treatment  of ( the soprano) it’s a lighter sound. The alto is kind of like a tenor for me, so when I play the soprano it kind of lightens it up a little bit , I don't have to have the same voice. It kind of breaks it up a little bit.

NOJ:   There have been many schools of alto playing over the years, the so called West Coast cool school of Lee Konitz, Art Pepper, Paul Desmond and then there is the East Coast school coming out of the Parker lineage,  Sonny Stitt, Phil Woods, Jackie McLean and of course Dolphy, Cannonball and the Coltrane influence. Where do you think you fit in or is it relevant at all as to where you fit in?

KG: That’s a hard one,. I’m not sure, because there are so many different schools that I have been influenced by, so many of those people. When you’re studying music, you really don’t know where you’re coming from. (Laughing)  They start to draw you in and you start to try to emulate them, but of course one of  main influences is still Trane, but not only Trane there is Sonny Rollins, there is Joe Henderson, there is  Maceo Parker  so many people.

NOJ: But those are all tenor players right?

KG: Well yeah but so many , there is Bird , there is Hodges, there’s Sonny Criss there are so many people in the beginning. But in thinking about the voices that I really hear that influenced me the  most it would probably be like Sonny and Trane and Joe and Wayne ( Shorter)  those are the few guys that stick out. There was a point when I checked out Wayne, by playing with Miles it sent me back  checking out those records to listen to Wayne’s voice and this view that he is coming from. But of course when you talk about Wayne he’s coming from Trane and Trane’ss coming from Bird  so all those tongs lead back at some point.

NOJ: What do you think about the West Coast school and the cool sound? 

 

KG: I don't really think about that. I have listened to Lee Konitz  so I can’t really say… I don't really  think about West Coast vs. East Coast, whoever I like I just take it all in.

NOJ: Are there any young players that you are particularly impressed with?

KG: Actually I like an alto player from Baltimore this guy’s name is Tim Green. I like his voice and I like what he is trying to do/ There are of course is many players Jaleel Shaw and  Bruce Williams come to mind. Actually Antoine Roney,  Wallace Roney’s brother, I like Antoine’s playing a lot. There are of course quite a few players that I haven’t yet heard.

NOJ: You've become more melodic in your more recent compositions. Is this conscious effort to try to connect with your audience and perhaps widen the music’s appeal?

KG: I have always been very melodic. I ve always loved melodies since day one so that is just really a natural thing for me.

NOJ: You played piano on your last two albums. I particularly point out “Brother Brown” from Pushing the World Away,  where you are being uncharacteristically backed by strings (. I guess that is a window into what you want to do with strings in the future? ) ( Laughing)  How does the piano expand your voice in ways that the saxophone does not?

KG:  Playing the piano allows me to orchestrate a little bit more, harmonically to be able to play something for  gigs.  A  lot of the ideas  they come quicker on the piano, because it’s right there and of course I hear it  because I play it all the time.  I hear it  on the saxophone, but it’s a little bit quicker, for me it’s a visual thing you can see it right there ( on the piano) and it just kind of happens. Sometimes if you play the notes on a saxophone, like a C Major and its fine, but the same notes might be something a little different when you play the piano. I play piano on a lot of my records, but I don’t always play a solo like on “Brother Brown”.

NOJ: I remember the last time I saw you perform at the Iridium and Mulgrew Miller was there before he passed and he sat in with you guys. It was so interesting to see Benito Gonzalez and some other piano players hover around him watching him carefully as he played. It was a great show and a great experience.

KG:  There was so much respect from musicians because they realized that Mulgrew was trying to be the best he could be. I definitely remember that, with all the cats going wow. Mulgrew and I we have been friend for thirty five years so I knew what he was really striving to do.  He was trying to accomplish and be one of the greats!

When we first came to New York we would go to see Tommy Flanagan, Barry Harris, Hank Jones and people like that, so I think for him that was what he aspired to be.  I came up through the Duke Ellington Orchestra,  but he  also had a chance to play with Woody Shaw and Betty Carter and all these different experiences, big band and small groups. A group with Woody Shaw that harmonically was just crazy. So all these experiences led him to be the great player he was.

NOJ: You have favored pianists with a very percussive technique, distinctively a very McCoy Tyner influenced sound.  Your pianist Benito Gonzalez is  a good example of this style. McCoy’s style  with Coltrane was once described to me by the pianist Steve Kuhn ( who briefly played with Trane just before Tyner) as laying down a carpet of sound that John could then explore from. Is this what you look for in a pianist, to give you this kind of platform to work off of?

KG:  Well that’s definitely how I hear it. Of course by listening to those records of Coltrane playing with Mc Coy, at some point when I play the piano , when I am writing I hear that and that is what I am trying to get them to explore. I think for me Mulgrew , because I played with him the most, was able to…he was like a glove,  when I would play, he knew how to open up those chords. It was almost like when Miles Davis  with Herbie ( Hancock). Miles would play a note and Herbie and those guys would know what to do. What I try to do, it is the same thing with the pianist that play with me, try to get them  to learn how to orchestrate and how to follow that and sometime not to (follow). They start to understand what is needed and what is not needed. 

NOJ: You have incorporated more voice and chanting into your music. It was particularly effective in the haunting composition “Detroit” from Seeds. What is the sentiment that you are trying to portray in that  moving song.

KG:  At  twelve o'clock every day in Detroit there was a radio announcer, her name was Martha Jean the Queen. Every day, every day she played the same song, I think it was  a James Cleveland song. I think it was called “Without a Song” it wasn't the standard that we know, but I think that was the name of it. But everyday at twelve o'clock she would play this sad song. I would say “Wow , Really! “ But I remembered it , that’s the craziest thing, I remembered that haunting  sense of that tune. So when I  was writing I wanted to find a song to  capture that feeling  like “oh no not again”. I tried to capture the spirit of what that song meant to me. 

NOJ: The song was beautiful but had a haunting, melancholy feel to it, I thought it was a statement about how far Detroit had fallen?

KG:  Not so much that, of course that was part of me wanting to write a song for Detroit. They were going through some rough times but  it will come back. Like every city it  has to come back, hopefully sooner rather than later.

NOJ: The Iridium is presently your choice venue in New York. while it has a history of providing top talent jazz in recent years it has been more of a guitar-centric venue. What makes you feel  right at home as a performer there?

KG: I first used to play a lot at Sweet Basil that was my home. And then they did something, they had a change or something so eventually I had to find another place and Ron ( Sturm, the Owner of Iridium) was able to allow me to come there when I  wanted to play and so that became my new home. So when I come to New York that is where I go. I call him and say  I am  looking for some place to come and play and he has always been accommodating.

NOJ:  So you will be playing at the iridium on May 22 through May 24^th and who will be in the band?

KG: Vernell Brown playing piano, Rudy Bird, playing percussion, Mc Lenty Hunter playing drums and Corchran  Holt playing bass. It is like the working band.

NOJ: Will you be introducing anything new?

KG: Every once in a while we try to throw in something new, I'am not sure if we will do that but mainly it will be a repertoire from the last two records.

NOJ: You have just been on tour in Europe  recently?

KG:  We just came back from Japan two days ago. We are in Europe a lot, traveling a great deal. It has been great, to go to Japan too. I was there last year doing the International Jazz with Herbie and the crew. We go to Europe a lot seems like we are there every other week ( laughing)