Seeds from the Underground is the thirteenth studio album by saxophonist Kenny Garrett. It was released on April 10, 2012, on Mack Avenue Records and received two Grammy Award nominations in Best Jazz Instrumental Album and Best Improvised Jazz Solo categories,[1] as well as an NAACP Image Award nomination in the Outstanding Jazz Album category,[2] a Soul Train Award nomination in the Best Traditional Jazz Artist/Group category,[3][dead link] a Jazz Awards nomination for Alto Saxophonist of the Year[4] and an Echo Award win in the Saxophonist of the Year category.[5] It features Garrett in a quintet with pianist Benito Gonzalez, bassist Nat Reeves, percussionist Rudy Bird, and drummer Ronald Bruner, along with a small choir.
| Seeds From The Underground | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 10, 2012 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 70:01 | |||
| Label | Mack Avenue MAC 1063 | |||
| Producer |
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| Kenny Garrett chronology | ||||
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Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| The New York Times | (favorable)[7] |
| The Guardian | [8] |
| PopMatters | 8/10[9] |
The album received a 77/100 score on Metacritic, based on four reviews from mainstream media.[10]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Kenny Garrett.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Boogety Boogety" | 9:03 |
| 2. | "J. Mac" | 6:26 |
| 3. | "Wiggins" | 7:37 |
| 4. | "Haynes Here" | 7:27 |
| 5. | "Detroit" | 4:21 |
| 6. | "Seeds from the Underground" | 8:08 |
| 7. | "Du-Wo-Mo" | 8:16 |
| 8. | "Welcome Earth Song" | 8:43 |
| 9. | "Ballad Jarrett" | 6:22 |
| 10. | "Laviso, I Bon?" | 3:38 |
| Total length: | 70:01 | |
Personnel
editMusic
- Kenny Garrett – alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, piano
- Benito Gonzalez – piano
- Nat Reeves – bass
- Ronald Bruner – drums
- Rudy Bird – batá, percussion, vocals
- Donald Brown – vocals
- Rusty Chops – vocals
- Sengbe Kona Khasu – vocals
- Nedelka Prescod – vocals
- Misha Tarasov – vocals
Production
- Kenny Garrett, Donald Brown, Maria Ehrenreich – producer
- Gretchen Valade – executive producer, liner notes
- Greg Calbi – engineer (mastering)
- Todd Whitelock – engineer (mixing)
- Fernando Lodeiro, Tim Marchiafava, Damon Whittemore – assistant engineer
- Will Wakefield – production manager
- Tino Passante – studio manager
- Randall Kennedy – creative director
- Timothy Zach – art direction, design
- Keith Major – photography
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Result | Award | Category | Work |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Nominated | NAACP Image Award | Outstanding Jazz Album | Seeds from the Underground |
| 2012 | Nominated | Soul Train Awards | Best Traditional Jazz Artist/Group | Seeds from the Underground |
| 2013 | Nominated | Grammy Award | Best Jazz Instrumental Album[1] | Seeds from the Underground |
| 2013 | Nominated | Grammy Award | Best Improvised Jazz Solo[1] | "J. Mac" on Seeds from the Underground |
| 2013 | Won | Echo Award | Best International Jazz Saxophone Performance | Seeds from the Underground |
Chart positions
edit| Chart (2012) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Top Jazz Albums[11][dead link] | 10 |
References
edit- 1 2 3 "Kenny Garrett | Artist | GRAMMY.com". Grammy Awards. Retrieved January 24, 2026.
- ↑ "The '44th NAACP Image Awards' Nominees Announced Two-hour Special Airs Live Friday, February 1 on NBC" (PDF). NAACP. December 11, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 29, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2026.
- ↑ "Kenny Garrett Soul Train Award Nomination". Soul Train. October 15, 2012.
- ↑ "Kenny Garrett Jazz Award Nomination". JJA Jazz Awards. Archived from the original on April 5, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
- ↑ "Kenny Garrett Echo Award Win". Twitter. Mack Avenue Records.
- ↑ AllMusic.com review
- ↑ "New Albums From Jack White, Sarah Jaffe and Kenny Garrett (Published 2012)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 29, 2012.
- ↑ "Kenny Garrett: Seeds from the Underground – review". The Guardian. March 15, 2012. Archived from the original on September 26, 2018.
- ↑ PopMatters review
- ↑ "Seeds from the Underground by Kenny Garrett". Metacritic. Retrieved January 24, 2026.
- ↑ "Jazz Albums". Billboard. April 28, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2012.