Here is a interesting interview with Panama Jazz legend Carlos Garnett from Newsroom Panama. Click on his picture to hear him while you read this article.
By: Ken Grady,
Over the past several decades, Panamanian musician Carlos Garnett has been one of the premier Jazz artists, composers, arrangers, and leaders in Jazz history.
His work with Freddie Hubbard, Art Blakey, Miles Davis, Andrew Hill, and Charles Mingus, is legendary.
Recently, I had the opportunity to talk with Carlos Garnett at his home in Panama City, Panama.
KG– You achieved success in America, but were born here in Panama, correct?
CG- Yes, I was born in 1938 in Red Tank, in the Canal Zone, but I was raised in Paraiso. I left Panama for New York in 1962, and returned in 2004. And, the joy of coming back home from the US is that I am able to pass on my advice to the younger generation.
KG- Did you come from a musical family?
CG- That’s a very good question, because it’s complicated. My mother played the organ. And, my grandfather played the guitar and organ, as an evangelist. So, I’d say that the music in me came from my grandfather to my mother, then my mother to me.
When I was a young kid, in the 1950’s, we used to have this toy called a kazoo. I began playing that. Around age twenty, I took up the ukulele and sang Calypso with friends of mine.
KG- How did you teach yourself to play by ear?
CG- I never had any music teaching, and therefore, couldn’t read music. But, while I was playing as a young man, I leaned on my ears and my heart. And through that process I started playing with some of the top groups in Panama. I was a very popular musician in Panama who could not read music. But, then I became the number one saxophone player in Panama”.
Sometimes, I have felt animosity from guys who had the studies, training, and knowledge that I didn’t have Because, I was the most popular.
When Carlos Garnett moved to New York in 1962 his career took an upward trajectory to the status of legend in the world of Jazz. But, it wasn’t an easy process.
To read the entire interview, go to: myjazzjourneys.blogspot.com