| Sketches of MD: Live at The Iridium | |
| Type: | Live Album |
| Artist: | Kenny Garrett featuring Pharoah Sanders |
| Cover: | SketchesOfMD_AlbumCover.jpg |
| Released: | September 22, 2008[1] |
| Venue: | Iridium Jazz Club, NYC |
| Genre: | Jazz |
| Label: | Mack Avenue Records |
| Producer: | Kenny Garrett |
| Chronology: | Kenny Garrett |
| Prev Title: | Beyond the Wall |
| Prev Year: | 2006 |
| Next Title: | Seeds from the Underground |
| Next Year: | 2012 |
Sketches of MD: Live at The Iridium is one of the few live albums by Kenny Garrett, his first for Mack Avenue Records, released in 2008. The Mack Avenue label was based out of Garrett’s hometown of Detroit. Garrett is featured in a quintet with tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, keyboardist Benito Gonzalez, bassist Nat Reeves and drummer Jamire Williams.The "MD" of the title track refers to Garrett’s old bandleader Miles Davis.
In a review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek wrote: "What is most pleasing about Sketches of MD is that Garrett is as concerned with offering his audience a solid and utterly engaging show as he is with having himself thought of as a banner-carrying sophisticated jazzman."
DownBeats Jim Macnie called the album "frustratingly static," and commented: "Garrett may be a fire-starter, but his party records need a bit more design."
John Kelman of All About Jazz described the recording as "an album of unabashed blowing and multiplicity of stylistic references," but noted that the rendition of "Happy People" "turns tedious."
Writing for The Guardian, John Fordham stated that the album "catches the incandescent quality of a typical Garrett gig," and remarked: "It's good party music, but the kind of spontaneous turns that make you jump are rare."
In an article for JazzTimes, Steve Greenlee suggested that Garrett's association with Pharoah Sanders "is pushing Garrett to new heights," and noted the influence of "John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Cannonball Adderley and others."[2]
Claudrena N. Harold of PopMatters commented: "If you've had the fortune of seeing Garrett live, the magic he captures on this disc... should come as no surprise." She called the opening track "a perfect showcase of the intellectual curiosity and spiritual probing that makes Garrett's music so captivating," and wrote: "Shrieks and honks by Garrett and Pharaoh Sanders not only conjure up spirits from jazz's illustrious past, but summon us to participate in their spiritual communion."
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