Triology
Kenny Garrett is among the most passionate and skillful of the younger generation of alto saxophonists, and he makes particularly effective use of the trio format with just bass and drum accompaniment, developing great harmonic freedom and tense rhythmic dialogues with drummer Brian Blade. There are shades of older giants like Sonny Stitt, Jackie McLean, and even Ornette Coleman in his approach, but Garrett brings his own intensity and ideas to this 1995 recording, whether he's playing his taut originals, a tune as familiar as "In Your Own Sweet Way," or a neglected ballad like "A Time for Love." Something of a Coltrane specialist (his CDPursuanceis devoted to Coltrane compositions), Garrett manages to sound more than credible even on "Giant Steps," among the most daunting of Coltrane's tunes.--Stuart Broomer