Kenny Garrett

Fri., Feb. 15, 8 p.m. $22.50, Gershman Hall, 401 S. Broad St., 215-569-8080, philadelphiachambermusic.org.

by Shaun Brady

jazz

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I get bored reading long lists of names citing all the notables a certain jazz performer has accompanied on stage or record, so I won't bother running down the CV for Kenny Garrett. Suffice it to say, over the past 30 years the alto saxophonist has played with most of them, and has emerged as a distinctive leader in his own right. But he can boast of one endeavor that few of those familiar names would even have thought to try — immersing himself in the culture of China, returning from a three-week excursion with music imbued with Far Eastern elements from the inside. The result is Beyond the Wall (Nonesuch), one of Garrett's finest CDs and a compelling hybrid. He undertook the journey with a knockout group including Pharoah Sanders, Bobby Hutcherson and Brian Blade — a pretty impressive list of names in itself — and while he'll be bringing his working quartet for this gig, it's hard to believe the effects of that trip will have worn off just yet.

Fri., Feb. 15, 8 p.m. $22.50, Gershman Hall, 401 S. Broad St., 215-569-8080, philadelphiachambermusic.org.