New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Kenny Carr has been on a journey since the death of Ray Charles, being a band member for 10 years until his passing, Carr took up his own career and has been steadily releasing with stalwart players such as Kenny Wollesen, Hans Glawischnig,
George Laks, Andy Hess, Tony
Mason and others in the jazz genres, as well as his childhood friend Donny McCaslin, who once again has joined Carr on his latest effort Departure.
Departure, which has been enjoying charting on 3 nationally recognized jazz charts Jazzweek (#17), NACC (#3) and RMR #2.
Upcoming NYC Events
Tuesday, March 12th, 2019
The Bitter End
Kenny Carr Group - 7:00
147 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10012
(212) 673-7030
Price: $10.00
Thursday, March 14th, 2019
Jazz at Kitano
Kenny Carr Quartet - 8:00 and 10:00
66 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10016
212-885-7000
Price: $18 (two drink minimum)
Kenny Carr - Guitar
Kenny Wollesen - Drums
Tony Scherr - Bass
John Ellis - Saxophone
Early Reviews:
Carr's tunes have an angularity to them, they fit nicely in the modern jazz category with well-articulated soloing and melodies that build and land with mastery. One thing that always shines is when a guitarist has a strong grasp of jazz and blues, certainly Carr's time with Charles taught him the necessity of melody and the strength of colorizations and how to tie them into something that the listener can enjoy. Carr's originals are well-built, they make sense and offer a vehicle for each musician to drive their solos into. McCaslin is certainly inspired on Carr's originals while Glawischnig and Wollesen offer a solid platform for McCaslin and Carr to expound upon. A stunning listen throughout.- Steph Cosme, Staccatofy
There are structures underneath it all, an energy that really isn't that common in jazz. Rock was so controversial during its infancy because the rhythms were almost sexual--it certainly reminded too many of its critics of that, anyway. That same tension floats in Carr's music, that tightness that binds the music into a more manageable whole.-Marc Phillips, The Vinyl Anachronist
These are strong particularly in the ostinato and riff-driven tunes which periodically appear throughout Departure, such as Tell Me I Can't, and D&P. At times, these simpler harmonic frameworks are highly successful. For example, on the album's sixth track Evolutions; the uncomplicated undulations between chord one and chord four in the solo section acting as a perfect frame for Carr and Donny McCaslin's (tenor saxophone) improvisations. The harder end of this scale though is also felt on tunes such as Time Change.-Lance Liddle, Bebop
Spoken Here
Album Musicians
Kenny Carr - Guitars, Synthesizers
Donny McCaslin - Saxophone
Kenny Wollesen - Drums, Percussion
Hans Glawischnig - Bass
Kenny Carr has been on a journey since the death of Ray Charles, being a band member for 10 years until his passing, Carr took up his own career and has been steadily releasing with stalwart players such as Kenny Wollesen, Hans Glawischnig,
George Laks, Andy Hess, Tony
Mason and others in the jazz genres, as well as his childhood friend Donny McCaslin, who once again has joined Carr on his latest effort Departure, which has been enjoying charting on 3 nationally recognized jazz charts Jazzweek (#17), NACC (#3) and RMR #2.
Kenny Carr is a classically trained guitar player, composer and band leader in New York City, where he has been performing music from his 2018 release, Departure, and his five earlier collections. Carr performs his original jazz, blues, funk and fusion instrumental music with trio, quartet and other ensembles as well as in solo settings. Carr has performed as headliner at NYC clubs such as 55 Bar and The Bitter End and has been featured in the Jazz at Kitano Emerging Artist Series.
Carr studied jazz theory with vibraphonist Rob Lautz and trumpeter Ray Brown in California before moving to
Boston where he studied guitar performance and film score at the Berklee College of Music.
By 16, he was performing with fellow Bay Area jazz musicians such as drummers Kenny Wollesen, Jeff Ballard, bassist Anders Swanson and saxophonist Donny McCaslin. In 1981, Carr and company were invited to open for Carmen McRae and Freddie Hubbard at the Mount Tamalpais jazz festival.
In his final year at Berklee, Carr joined the
Ray Charles Trio and the
Ray Charles Orchestra. Carr toured worldwide with Charles for over 10 years and was lead guitar for the recordings "Just Between Us" and "Live at Montreux".
Following Charles' passing, Carr composed and recorded music for five albums including: Friday at Five (2005), Turn the Page (2006), Changing Tide (2007), Idle Talk (2014), and Exit Moon (2015), and performed around the mid-Atlantic region. He has recorded with NY, LA and other musicians to include Donny McCaslin, Kenny Wollesen, Hans Glawischnig,
George Laks, Andy Hess, Tony Mason, John Dryden, Tom Baldwin and Frank Russo. In 2018, Carr recorded and released
Departure featuring top New York artists Donny McCaslin, Kenny Wollesen and Hans Glawischnig.
Kenny Carr - Guitars, Synthesizers
Donny McCaslin - Saxophone
Kenny Wollesen - Drums, Percussion
Hans Glawischnig - Bass
1. Intervals 3:56
2. Time Change * 6:47
3. Tell Me I Can't 7:25
4. Warmth * 8:12
5. D&P 6:24
6. Evolutions 6:10
7.
Departure * 5:34
8. Waiting * 7:58
9. Bear Call 5:36
10. Parallels * 7:33
All compositions by Kenny Carr
Recorded at Bunker Studios
Mixed and Mastered by Brad Baerwald at Studio 51
* Mixed and Mastered by Dave Darlington at Bass Hit Studios
