Jazz fans dance at Kenny Garrett’s gigs – the energy of the former Miles Davis alto saxist is infectious. Unlike some pop-leaning jazz players, though, he doesn’t dumb down the skill with which he burns through mazy, hard-bop tunes as if they were nursery rhymes. But this mostly funky and fast-moving set is aimed at booty-shaking, which raises the only catch – that Garrett live and Garrett in a studio can be two different propositions. The scale-skimming, Giant Steps-like sax improvisation of the opener is anchored on Vernell Brown Jr’s McCoy Tyner chordwork; Backyard Groove is rugged and rootsy, while Wheatgrass Shot is a nervy, anguished rap from Mista Enz, the son of producer Donald Brown. The funky title track features Garrett cannily building his soul-sax solo in fragments and prods, letting the rhythm section hold it together. The gentle soprano-sax weave of Waltz (3 Sisters) thickens to an almost abstract intensity, and the mood piece Persian Steps – with its didgeridoo-like sounds underpinning the leader’s flute – is a teasing glimpse of a more intimately personal album.
