Carlos Garnett is a Panamanian-American jazz saxophonist. He grew up in Panama, and started playing tenor saxophone in 1957. Early on, he performed calypso and Latin music. In 1962, Garnett moved to New York, working with rock groups and struggling a bit, but listening closely to free jazz saxophonists. He gained some recognition for his work with Freddie Hubbard (1968-1969), Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (1969-1970), and Charles Mingus, and had an important stint with Miles Davis in 1972. Garnett also worked with Jack McDuff, Andrew Hill, Gary Bartz, and Norman Connors during the era and recorded five albums of his own for Muse during 1974-1977 that ranged from exploratory music to attempts at commercialism. Carlos Garnett was musically inactive during much of the 1980s, and largely seemed to disappear from jazz, but started a comeback in 1991. In 1996, he made one of his finest albums (Fuego en Mi Alma, for the HighNote label) in a style little changed since the '70s.
