Kenny G

For the WFMU DJ, see Kenneth Goldsmith.

Kenny G
Background information
Years active	1982–present

Kenneth Gorelick (born June 5 1956), better known by his stage name Kenny G, is an American saxophonist whose fourth album Duotones brought him to fame in 1986. Kenny's main instrument is the Soprano Saxophone, but he also plays the alto and tenor sax on occasion.

Early career

Kenneth Gorelick began his career as a professional musician by joining Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra. After he graduated from the University of Washington he became a credited member of The Jeff Lorber Fusion. This group's 1980 LP Wizard Island has been seen as his introduction to listening audiences. He began his solo career after his period with Lorber.

Solo career

In 1981 Kenny G signed with Arista Records as a solo artist. He has released many solo albums and collaborated with various artists including Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton, Natalie Cole, Steve Miller (which marked the only time he appeared on a rock and roll album) and Aretha Franklin. Influenced by the likes of Grover Washington, Jr., his own albums are usually classified as smooth jazz.

As of 2003, Kenny G was named the 25th-highest selling artist in America by the RIAA, with 48 million albums sold in the USA.[1] In 1994, Kenny G won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition for Forever in Love. He also has a substantial worldwide following.

Musical Backlash

While Kenny G's entry into the smooth jazz market remains popular with the American buying public, he has come under fire from music critics and jazz devotées, leading him to be described as "the musician many jazz listeners love to hate" [2].

Guitarist Pat Metheny's criticisms of Kenny G are especially well documented, as first printed on Metheny's own Web site forum in 2000, and archived on Jazz Oasis.com [3]. Drawing Metheny's extreme ire was Kenny G's overdubbing of a song by legendary jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong, which Metheny described as follows - "By disrespecting Louis, his legacy and by default, everyone who has ever tried to do something positive with improvised music and what it can be, Kenny G has created a new low point in modern culture - something that we all should be totally embarrassed about".

English guitarist Richard Thompson seconded Metheny's thoughts by writing the song "I Agree With Pat Metheny, Kenny's Talent's Are Too Teeny". Among the song's pointed lyrics are:

"A meeting of great minds, how nice
Like Einstein and Sporty Spice
Digitally fused in an abortion
Oh, Kenny fans will doubtless rave
While Satchmo turns inside his grave
Soprano man's bit off more than his portion"

The full lyrics and a link to an mp3 of Thompson's song can be found [4] here.

Popular culture

In the 1993 movie Waynes World 2, mention is made of Kenny G. Garth Algar then imagines himself in a theatre audience, having his teeth drilled by a dentist as an unseen performer plays a saxophone solo. It is, however, mentioned in the closing credits that the saxophone solo was not played by Kenny G.

Kenny G was featured in a 2000 episode of the animated South Park called the World Wide Recorder Concert.

On Reel Big Fish's 2006 live DVD, You're All In This Together, Singer-guitarist Aaron Barrett criticises trumpeter John Christianson for playing a "Kenny G" solo during "Where Have You Been", and is ordered to play a more "Rock 'n' Roll" solo.

In the Friends episode "The one where they're going to party", Ross says, "And so what if I like to go home, throw on some Kenny G, and take a bath!" To which Joey replies, "We're twenty nine! We're not women!"

In the animated film Cars, Kenny G music is played by a group of cars to lull Mack to sleep while he's driving.

Kenny G's Songbird was played in The Master of Disguise.

Multimedia

• 1990 music video of "Going Home"
• "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" with the Taiwanese-American singer Leehom Wang

External links

• Kenny G on VH1.com
  • includes full discography
• Kenny G at IMDb
• Kenny G Official Website
• All Music Guide