Kenny G

Kenny G
Kenny G playing at The Players Championship award ceremony
Background information
Birth name	Kenneth Bruce Gorelick
Also known as	Kenny G
Born	June 5, 1956 (1956-06-05) (age 53)
Origin	Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Genres	Smooth jazz Adult contemporary
Occupations	Composer Songwriter
Instruments	Primary: Soprano saxophone Secondary: Alto saxophone Tenor saxophone Flute
Years active	1982 – present
Labels	Arista (1982–2006) Concord Jazz (2008–present)
Website	www.kennyg.com

Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956), better known by his stage name Kenny G, is a Grammy winning American saxophonist. His fourth album, Duotones, brought him breakthrough success in 1986.^[1] Kenny G's main instrument is the soprano saxophone, but he also on occasion plays alto and tenor saxophone. He started playing the saxophone when he was 10 years old, in 1966. The saxophone he had as a student was a Buffet-Crampon alto saxophone.

Early life

Kenny G was born in Seattle, Washington,^[2] to a Jewish family and first came into contact with a saxophone when he heard someone performing with one on The Ed Sullivan Show.^[1] He learned how to play under the direction of local trumpeter Gerald Pfister and by practicing along with records (mostly of Grover Washington, Jr.), "trying" to emulate the sounds that he was hearing.^[1] At Franklin High School he failed to get into the jazz band when he applied,^[3] although was accepted the following year when he tried again.^[4] He also played for his high school golf team,^[4] a sport which he had loved ever since his older brother, Brian Gorelick, introduced it to him when he was ten years old.^[4]

Career

Kenny G's career started with a job as a sideman for Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra in 1973.^[5] He was also studying for a major in accounting at the same time.^[6] After being rejected as a music major from Central Washington University, he went on to get a degree from University of Washington and played with the funk band Cold, Bold & Together^[6] before becoming a credited member of The Jeff Lorber Fusion.^[5] He began his solo career after his period with Lorber.^[5]

Kenny G signed with Arista Records as a solo artist in 1982, after label president Clive Davis heard his rendition of ABBA's "Dancing Queen".^[5] He has released many solo albums and collaborated with various artists including Andrea Bocelli, Whitney Houston,^[7], Peabo Bryson, Toni Braxton, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince,^[8] Natalie Cole,^[9] Steve Miller^[10] (which marked the only time he appeared on a rock and roll album), Dudley Moore, Michael Bolton, Celine Dion and Aretha Franklin.^[7] Influenced by the likes of saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr. and the lyricism of Barry Manilow, his own albums are usually classified as smooth jazz. Kenny G plays the Selmer Mark VI Soprano, Alto and Tenor Saxophones.

He received success quite early on, with both G Force and Gravity, his second and third studio albums respectively, achieving platinum status in the United States. These sales were topped by his fourth studio album, Duotones, which shifted over five million copies in the U.S. alone. His sixth studio album, Breathless, became the number one best selling instrumental album ever, with over 15 million copies sold, of which 12 million were in the U.S. He broke another record when his first holiday album, Miracles, sold over 13 million copies, making it the most successful Christmas album to date.^[6]

In 1997, Kenny G earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for playing the longest note ever recorded on a saxophone. Kenny G held an E-flat for forty five minutes and 47 seconds in the Hopkins-Bright Auditorium (named after his two friends) at J&R Music World in New York City.^[11] That same year, Kenny G's song "Havana", from his album The Moment, was remixed by noted DJs Todd Terry and Tony Moran and released promotionally to dance clubs in the U.S. These mixes went to #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in April of 1997, giving Kenny G his first (and, to date, only) #1 on this chart.

Kenny G's 1999 single, "What A Wonderful World" was criticized by the jazz community regarding the overdubbing of Louis Armstrong's classic recording. A common criticism was that a revered recording by an artist such as Armstrong known especially for improvisation should not be altered^[12][13] and especially not by a musician such as Kenny G whose contributions to jazz were already in question.^[14][15] Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny responded to this recording by saying, "With this single move, Kenny G became one of the few people on earth I can say that I really can't use at all -- as a man, for his incredible arrogance to even consider such a thing, and as a musician, for presuming to share the stage with the single most important figure in our music."^{[12][16][17][18]}

The "duet" was produced by David Foster who also recorded the Natalie Cole and Nat King Cole duet. Kenny G stated at the time,"...I didn't want to spoil the original. I said, 'Whatever we do, if we're not going to make it better, let's throw it away and we won't do it.' So (Foster) guaranteed that it would be better, and I hope that we did a good job on it."^[19] Some columnists countered the criticisms suggesting such a recording would bring classic jazz to a wider audience.^[20] Nevertheless, Kenny G fans considered the live performance of this duet with Armstrong on a video taped backdrop a "show stopper."^[21] Some pop critics reviewed the album Classics in the Key of G as possibly his best specifically because of his choice of classic covered songs.^[22] Kenny G has stated that all the proceeds from "What A Wonderful World" go to his Kenny G Miracles Foundation which "funnel(s) the money to charities to purchase musical instruments and to supplement funding for the arts in schools."^[23]

Kenny G has recorded some Chinese songs, such as "Jasmine Flower" (茉莉花) or "The Moon Represents My Heart" (月亮代表我的心). His music is noticeably popular in China. His recording "Going Home" is often played at closing time at public places or the at end of classes at schools. Mass transit systems in Tianjin and Shanghai play these songs when trains approach terminus stations.

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 as of July 31, 2006.^[24] In 1994, Kenny G won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition for Forever in Love.

In October 2009, Kenny G appeared with the band Weezer in an AOL promotion of their album Raditude by soloing during "I'm Your Daddy". Kenny G said he knew nothing of Weezer prior to the performance.^[25] Though some music critics thereby rejoined in the common criticism of his work^[26][27] the unlikely combination was fairly well received by AOL's magazines Spinner.com and Popeater.com.^[28][25]

Personal life

Kenny G is married to Lyndie Benson, with whom he has two sons, Max (age 16) and Noah (age 11).

He frequently plays golf and has a playing handicap of +0.6.^[3] He has participated in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am tournament seven times as of 2009,^[4] and Golf Digest awarded him the position of number one golfer in their December rankings of Top 100 in Music.^[3][4]

Kenny G is a qualified pilot and has been known to fly to many events. He flies the De Havilland Beaver seaplane. He is also one of the original investors in the Starbucks coffee house chain.

Discography

References

External links

• Kenny G's official website
• Kenny G at Myspace
• Kenny G at Legacy Recordings
• Kenny G at VH1.com
• Kenny G Interview - Billboard en Español
• Kenny G at Allmusic
• Kenny G at the Internet Movie Database