Underoath Grammy

KENDREI WHALE GABRIEL SCHWARTZ

"This is one of the most essential albums of the year," says music critic Robert Hilburn, "[and it should] raise a smile across the entire jazz spectrum."

Fans of Beck, those who have never heard of him, are going to have an even greater reaction to the time this album comes out with a spectacularly full house.

The compositions — some of which are as close to elegant as the best jazz writing is — seem impossibly beautiful in their clarity. They sound to me like the work of a gifted soloist with the kind of intuition you get from a good teacher or even a good composer. It transcends mere mastery or method, though to each individual listener they may remain essentially the same piece.

Kendree's wit is as amazing as his ten-string picking.

He began this phase of his career by giving up on the trumpet in his 20s and by the time he did learn the instrument, he was completely a one-move performance artist in more ways than one. He's dropped acid, sat on a fence and eaten a chicken bone, all before the age of 30. This isn't the half-baked young punk in Los Lobos we want, this is the grown up jazz vibraphonist who commands the wings.

He made the piano his instrument of choice when he was already 35 and still had time to spare before his years of improvisational and commercial fame approached him. After this is the point when a number of his mentors and colleagues confirmed their belief — because we've mentioned Beck's other career quite a few times already — that he was the next great thing: a jazz genius.

Kendree was one of the few artists — bar none — to win the coveted award in the age of Miles Davis and Charlie Parker, the two most important jazz players. His masterful improvisations are unmatched in their artistry. His bravura yet sensitive craft has been superbly combined with remarkable consistency.

That this kind of performance art can elevate a leader — let alone a leading saxophonist —to the level of a superstar who will win our applause remains an emotional tale.