Pushing the World Away

Pushing the World Away
Studio album by Kenny Garrett
Released	September 17, 2013
Genre	Jazz
Length	72:06
Label	Mack Avenue MAC 1078
Producer	Kenny Garrett Donald Brown
Kenny Garrett chronology
Seeds from the Underground (2012) Pushing the World Away (2013) Do Your Dance! (2016)

Pushing the World Away is the Grammy-nominated, ^[1] critically acclaimed fourteenth studio album by Kenny Garrett, released on September 17, 2013, on Mack Avenue Records. The album peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Traditional Jazz Albums chart. Featured musicians include keyboardists Vernell Brown and Benito Gonzalez, percussionist Rudy Bird, bassist Corcoran Holt and drummers Marcus Baylor, McClenty Hunter, and Mark Whitfield Jr.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
DownBeat	[3]
Financial Times	[4]
Jazzwise	[5] [ dead link ]
PopMatters	7/10 [6]
The New York Times	(favorable) [7]
WBGO	(favorable) [8]

Thom Jurek of AllMusic wrote: "Pushing the World Away is a wildly diverse offering for Garrett. What it doesn't reveal in swing it does in intricacies, shadows, impressive arrangements, and striking musicianship." ^[2]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kenny Garrett except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"A Side Order of Hijiki"		3:44
2.	"Hey, Chick"		6:05
3.	"Chucho's Mambo"		7:45
4.	"Lincoln Center"		6:26
5.	"J'ouvert (Homage to Sonny Rollins)"		4:54
6.	"That's It"		4:59
7.	"I Say a Little Prayer"	Burt Bacharach Hal David	4:29
8.	"Pushing the World Away"		9:12
9.	"Homma San"		4:38
10.	"Brother Brown"		5:47
11.	"Alpha Man"		8:42
12.	"Rotation"		5:25

Personnel

Music

• Kenny Garrett – alto saxophone (tracks 1–7, 9, 11, 12), soprano saxophone (track 8), chant (track 8), piano (track 10), arranger
• Donald Brown – arranger (track 9)
• Benito Gonzalez – piano (tracks 1–3, 5–7, 9, 12)
• Corcoran Holt – bass
• Marcus Baylor – drums (tracks 1–3, 5, 6, 9, 12)
• Rudy Bird – percussion (tracks 3, 5–7, 9), cymbals and gong (track 8)
• Ravi Best – trumpet (track 3)
• Vernell Brown – piano (tracks 4, 8, 11, 12), chant (track 8)
• McClenty Hunter – drums (tracks 4, 7, 10, 12), vocals (track 6)
• Mark Whitfield Jr. – drums (tracks 8, 11, 12)
• Jean Baylor – vocals (track 9)
• Carolin Pook – violin (track 10)
• Brian Sanders – cello (track 10)
• Jen Herman – viola (track 10)
• Misha Tarasov – string arrangement (track 10)

Production

• Kenny Garrett, Donald Brown – producer
• Gretchen C. Valade – executive producer
• Al Pryor – Executive VP of A&R
• Joe Ferla – recording, mixing engineer
• Bob Mallory, Fred Sladkey – assistant engineer
• Greg Calbi – mastering engineer
• Will Wakefield – production manager
• Randall Kennedy – creative director
• Maria Ehrenreich – creative services, production
• Michael Snyder – art direction, design
• Keith Major – photography

Awards and nominations

Year	Result	Award	Category	Work
2014	Nominated	Grammy Award	Best Jazz Instrumental Album	Pushing the World Away
2014	Nominated	Soul Train Awards	Best Traditional Jazz Performance	Pushing the World Away

Charts

Chart (2013)	Peak position
US Billboard Traditional Jazz Albums [9]	6

References

1. "Kenny Garrett | Artist | GRAMMY.com". Grammy Awards . Retrieved January 24, 2026.
2. Jurek, Thom. "Pushing the World Away - Kenny Garrett | Album". AllMusic . Retrieved December 17, 2025.
3. Alkyer, Frank (September 2023). "Editor's Picks". DownBeat . Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2026.
4. Hobart, Mike (September 13, 2013). "Kenny Garrett: Pushing the World Away". Financial Times . Retrieved January 24, 2026.
5. Jazzwise magazine review
6. Layman, Will (September 16, 2013). "Kenny Garrett: Pushing the World Away". PopMatters . Retrieved January 24, 2026.
7. "Reaching Back to '60s Pop and '70s Country". The New York Times . Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2026.
8. "Kenny Garrett: Pushing the World Away". WBGO . Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2026.
9. "Traditional Jazz Albums" (PDF). Billboard . Vol. 125, no. 38. October 5, 2013. p. 61. Retrieved December 30, 2025– via worldradiohistory.com.