Customer Reviews

Happy People

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

but there's a reason.

Kenny recorded much of Standard of Language at the same time that he recorded Happy People. It is under my impression that his aim for the much poppier, smoother Happy People was to cheer people up in a time of sorrow (right after the 9-11 tragedy), hence Standard of Language was released a year later than Happy People.

If you want feel-good jazz performed by a brilliant jazz musician, pick up a copy of Happy People.

If you want that vintage Kenny Garrett jazz sound at all its intense and sizzling goodness, look into his other albums such as Songbook, Standard of Language, etc.

I have been following Kenny Garrett since I saw him in Cologne Germany with Miles in 91(still have my ticket and a poster from that show). And he just keeps putting out better and better works. 'African Exchange Student' was my favorite, however this piece has bumped it out. I have yet to take it out of my cd player since I unwrapped it back in late April, well ok, I took it on the road with me too. Very good work. The first time I played it from begining to end, I was just floating along, then bang 'Brother B', just blew me away. A must have.

I love this CD, it's a testament to the fact that there are still real jazz musicians out there who can get together and create something magical and moving. It's a far cry from a lot of the smooth jazz out there, and welcome to those whose ears are accustomed to Coltrane on a warm evening. Check it out!

It took me a while to get use to this cd at first, I let my friend borrow it for 2 months. I started to miss it so I got it back. He might not be playing some ridiculous solos (although track 8, i think thats the one with the -7 chord in wholesteps, he's playing some "explitive deleted") but they mean something. People need to realize is that is not how many licks you can play but how effectively you can make statement that means something. I slowly came to that conclusion a while ago when I heard Kenny Garret play live at blues alley (DC). He was on it that night. Anyway this is a great cd, not his best cd (SongBook), but its definitely worth getting.

This happens to be one of my favorite Kenny Garrett CD's. Not because of the album continuity, or the melodies. But because there are some energetic, exciting solos from Kenny. Being a fellow alto player, I really get into Kenny's solos more than the songs themselves on this disc. Kenny sounds awesome on his solos - better than I've heard him in a long time. The songs are a little bit, well, light, and structured, and logical. Some of the melodies really sing to me, but they just lack something- I think Kenny's going for simplicity, which is great. But there comes a point where I need a little bit more complexity in an individual tune, or just some diversity amongst all the similar melodies- I get the melodies all confused because they sound very similar. My favorite overall pieces are happy people (track 2- very driving rythym, great melody) and track 8,9 and 11. There are some KILLER solos on those last three tracks mentioned. I could do without the singer (on tracks 2 and 5)

Kenny and Marcus, ex Miles Davis alumni, have put together a satisfying jazz CD. It is not hard bop start to finish but in light of some the other schmaltz passing for jazz these days it is ambitious in its own right. The hard bop jazz CD is a rare thing and subject to cycles in the music market. For the purist there are always the Coltrane recordings. The production values are good on this CD. I have a good playback system and the sonic quality is as good as anything else I own.

This music puts the average "smooth jazz" genre to shame. I would rate this as one the best Jazz works I have heard this year. Kick back and enjoy something modern.

I would definately recommend this CD to others. The CD displays his ability to play a different style of music, because everyone knows he can play straight ahead jazz. This CD is very original and more than that, it is great music. Contrary to the beliefs of the other reviewers, this is great jazz music and does not border on the lines of smooth jazz. They were just expecting some straight ahead jazz. They were not expecting the new ideas of Kenny Garrett.#1

Let me get one thing straight - Kenny Garrett is one of my all-time favorite saxophone players, and i think he is an amazing musician and performer. Even though this CD does have some great spots, the majority of it is VERY predictable. For instance, 6 of the eleven songs start with very similar bass/drum/piano vamps that get old the third or fourth time around. Don't get me wrong, songs like Difang, Monk-ing around, Hole in One, and Brother B Harper exhibit some extremely tight grooves, but the overall execution is not what i have come to expect from Kenny Garrett. There are some downright amazing solos on the previously mentioned tracks (especialy on Hole in One and Brother B Harper), but this pop-oriented album fails to move me in the way that his other albums did, where every song simply belonged.

Kenny Garrett is still Kenny Garrett, however, and although he missed the mark with this one, he is one of the best live performers i have ever seen (i saw him at scullers jazz club in boston promoting this album). I'd say buy this album, its got some stuff you don't want to miss, just try to ignore the other tracks.

This CD is truly not going to be a favorite for the hard bop fans like Triology, Songbook, and Pursuance was, but the songs are a lot better in person. I saw him play last night and the songs on the CD were taken to the awesome bop/coltrane level that only Kenny Garrett can take them to. Though the solos on the CD are a disappointment for true jazz lovers, I believe they were recorded for a more universal audience to appreciate them and in remebrance of those lost on September 11th, 2001 like it says in the cover. True, though they may be rather smooth, they are quite different live and I encourage the real jazz lovers out there to see him play and hear what his melodies can really be taken to.

I hesitated about buying this CD because some of the reviews seemed to suggest that it was smooth jazz. However, it is a very enjoyable album, with some great tunes. The problem is that Kenny does not really allow himself to stretch out the way he did on "Songbook". How about a live album?