Jazzing it up at Zellerbach

Penn Presents brought musician Kenny Garrett to campus for a Saturday night performance. The theater remained abuzz with the chatter of restless concert-goers well after the show's announced starting time. But a hush fell over the Annenberg Center's Zellerbach Theatre and eyes turned toward the stage as soon as the featured performer sauntered out, clutching three saxophones and waving modestly to his fans. On Saturday night, Penn Presents brought jazz saxophonist Kenny Garrett to the Annenberg Center with his four-piece band -- and he had no trouble keeping several hundred audience members bopping their heads for the duration of the two-hour show. Standing sideways to the audience, Garrett bent his knees, leaned back and let out the first note. He proceeded to jam for the next 10 minutes before pausing to take a breath and give his pianist a solo. Throughout the show, the back-up musicians -- a bassist, a pianist and a drummer -- improvised together as Garrett swayed in the blue spotlight. In his two-set show, Garrett -- who once referred to himself as "someone who really loves to play in a lot of different genres" -- covered pieces influenced by legends such as Miles Davis and John Coltrane as well as some original compositions that landed him the title of Rolling Stone's "Hot Jazz Artist of the Year" in 1996. Advertisements in local papers and on Philadelphia radio stations attracted a diverse group of jazz fans to campus for Garrett's performance, including families and couples from Philadelphia and students from Penn and other area schools. Derrick El, a Philadelphia resident who heard about the concert on WJJZ radio, is one long-time fan who attended the show. He described Garrett's performance as "phenomenal, energetic and soulful." Known for his 1997 Grammy-nominated album Songbook, Garrett has enjoyed a formidable career in the industry. Fresh out of high school at the age of 17, the Detroit-born musician was invited to join the celebrated Duke Ellington Orchestra and later spent five years accompanying Davis himself. Women's Studies Department Co-Director Demie Kurz, who attended the concert with her husband, said she was especially impressed with Garrett's versatility. "I love the variety -- the pulsating avant-garde pieces and the more melodic stuff," she said. For many audience members, the highlight was Garrett's tribute to the hip-hop generation, a jazzy rap entitled Back Where You Started in which the fans participated by chanting "Tic toc, don't stop" to the beat of drummer Marcus Baylor. "Say what? I can't hear you!" Garrett yelled in encouragement. When the beat eventually tapered off, Garrett continued to mime fingering on his saxophone, drawing laughter and applause from the audience. College sophomore Leo Dugan, who plays alto sax in a band with Temple University students, took his mother to the show for her birthday. "[Garrett] is my absolute idol," Dugan said. "He takes your ear on a journey to uncharted territory." And Nate Skiles, a freshman at the University of the Arts and a jazz bass player, said he left the theatre "awestruck." His plans for the remainder of the evening? "Sit up all night, be inspired and rave about it 'til the sun comes up," he said.

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