LOTL Radio Welcomes Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Kenny Garrett

KENNY GARRETT  DEBUTS HIS NEW CD
PUSHING THE WORLD AWAY 
 
For his third Mack Avenue Records release, Pushing the World Away, alto/soprano saxophonist, 
composer/bandleader Kenny Garrett literally had to “push away” a steady flow of distractions to get to the 
inner core of the album, shifting priorities in his schedule and diving deep into the essence of the music. 
 
“I’m always writing, so coming up with the music wasn’t a problem,” says Garrett, who is arguably the most 
imitated alto saxophone player in jazz. “But I had been traveling a lot with my band, and I don’t rehearse new 
material on tour. Yet to record an album requires a lot of preparation and to conceptualize the music I had to 
push away to receive the blessings and gifts from these songs.” 
 
On Pushing the World Away, Garrett continues to mature as a composer. As the late Mulgrew Miller, his 
close friend for many years, noted in a DownBeat feature on the saxophonist last year: “Kenny has always 
had a great sound from the beginning. He had his own unique sound, but [thanks to his compositions] that 
sound has transformed into a more captivating and lyrical voice.” 
 
Garrett, in turn, nods to the pianist who he had known for more than 30 years on the jaunty, upbeat and at 
times explosive opening track of the album, “A Side Order of Hijiki,” which is decidedly not about the hijiki 
culinary seaweed. “No seaweed,” says Garrett who takes an expansive alto flight on this track. “It’s actually 
the word that Mulgrew used to describe my playing style. He would say, ‘I hear you playing that hijiki’.”