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Kenny G
Kenny G
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Kenny G has long been the musician many jazz listeners love to hate. A phenomenally successful instrumentalist whose recordings make the pop charts, Kenny G's sound has been a staple on adult contemporary and smooth jazz radio stations since the mid-'80s, making him a household name. Kenny G is a fine player with an attractive sound (influenced a bit by Grover Washington, Jr.) who often caresses melodies, putting a lot of emotion into his solos. Because he does not improvise much (sticking mostly to predictable melody statements), his music largely falls outside of jazz. However, because he is listed at the top of "contemporary jazz" charts and is identified with jazz in the minds of the mass public, he is classified as jazz.

Kenny Gorelick started playing professionally with Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra in 1976. He recorded with Cold, Bold & Together (a Seattle-based funk group) and freelanced locally. After graduating from the University of Washington, Kenny G worked with Jeff Lorber Fusion, making two albums with the group. Soon he was signed to Arista, recording his debut as a leader in 1982. His fourth album, Duotones (which included the very popular "Songbird"), made him into a star. Soon he was in demand for guest appearances on recordings of such famous singers as Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, and Natalie Cole. Kenny G's own records have sold remarkably well, particularly Breathless, which has easily topped eight million copies in the U.S.; his total album sales top 30 million copies. 1994's holiday album Miracles and 1996's Moment continued the momentum of his massive commercial success. He also recorded his own version of the Celine Dion/Titanic smash "My Heart Will Go On" in 1998, but the following year he released Classics in the Key of G, a collection of jazz standards like "'Round Midnight" and "Body & Soul," possibly to reclaim some jazz credibility.

Faith: A Holiday Album was released that same year, followed up by a limited edition re-release of the 1997 Greatest Hits disc. 2002 found Kenny G dipping into tropical territory with Paradise, which featured guest appearances by Brian McKnight and Chanté Moore. This was followed by a music video collection, another holiday album, entitled Wishes, and, in 2003, a second greatest-hits collection, Ultimate Kenny G. Perhaps in a bid to shake up his discography a bit, in 2004 Kenny G released At Last...The Duets Album, which featured "duets" with LeAnn Rimes and Chaka Khan. Two years later, smooth jazz's king of the soprano sax returned to a purely instrumental approach on the brassy, big-band-inspired albums Holiday Collection and I'm in the Mood for Love. 2006 was also the year the artist was dubbed the best golfer in music by Golf Digest, beating out Vince Gill for the number one spot. In 2008, Kenny G released the Latin-inspired Rhythm and Romance. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music GuideMore

Most Popular Music Videos (11)

Forever In Love
(Duration: 4:08)
Jun 19th, 10:54pm
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
(Duration: 3:54)
Jun 19th, 10:52pm
The Moment
(Duration: 4:38)
Jun 19th, 10:57pm
Sentimental
(Duration: 4:17)
Jun 19th, 10:54pm
Silhouette
(Duration: 4:48)
Jun 19th, 11:10pm
Going Home
(Duration: 4:15)
Jun 19th, 10:54pm
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Fan Comments

Nov 14th, 2:01am
i love your music & i love you...
Oct 21st, 5:25am
Jun 28th, 9:07am
Love, love, love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jun 13th, 11:36pm
Kenny...you play from the heart........its amazing.....two thumbs up...i like ur music>>>>>>>:)
Jun 10th, 2:00am
hey Kenny i would love to know how to play the sax.. just like you. but don t know how to start
Mar 28th, 6:53pm
there's a song that i forgot the title n still is searching it
but i like all of your music;p
Feb 22nd, 3:30pm
tHE BEST EVER!!! more power! Kenny!! I love you!!
Jan 11th, 1:15am