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Songbook (Kenny Garrett album)

1997 studio album by Kenny Garrett

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 21, 2026
Entity authorityQ105846763 ↗
Source-derived summary

Songbook is the eighth studio album by American jazz saxophonist Kenny Garrett, released in 1997 by Warner Bros. Records. It features Garrett in a quartet consisting of pianist Kenny Kirkland and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts (both known as part of Branford Marsalis's quartet), and bassist Nat Reeves.

Reception

In 1998, the album received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance.

In a review for AllMusic, Chris Slawecki wrote, "Always inventive, curious, daring, and exuberant, Garrett's Songbook proves him worthy of the alto legacy that most people ... seem to agree he carries, as he demonstrates what sounds like the uncanny ability to play two-faced—one face looking forward to the freshness of new concepts and creations as yet undiscovered, yet with another face which simultaneously looks back to the fine, fierce alto tradition of Phil Woods and Charlie Parker."

Owen Cordle of JazzTimes noted Garrett's "intense and passionate" sound and called his sidemen "tough players who create a slashing rhythmic drive". He also commented, "there's no doubt about the musical success and capability of these players with any material."

Writing for The Washington Post, Geoffrey Himes stated that, on the album, Garrett "emerges as an imposing composer", and remarked, "The modal improvising, the impressionistic gestures, the willingness to slip in and out of a swinging groove all give the 10 pieces the ability to challenge and surprise."

Billboard's Paul Verna called the album Garrett's "most original and accomplished traditional set to date" and "a muscular, no-filler set", with playing that "ranges from rough, avant-gardish riffery to sweetly keening alto tones".

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Songbook (Kenny Garrett album)” as 1997 studio album by Kenny Garrett. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Songbook, Kenny and Garrett.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1997, 1998—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Songbook, Kenny and Garrett providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Songbook (Kenny Garrett album)”, the useful work is to connect “1997 studio album by Kenny Garrett” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q105846763. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1997 and 1998.

Critical limits

Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

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  2. Expand the search: follow Songbook (Kenny Garrett album) primary sources, Songbook (Kenny Garrett album) archive and Songbook research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Songbook (Kenny Garrett album)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.