It kills me to see people bash this man. If you don't like his music don't listen. Your opinion means nothing. He has already sold millions and made millions he is doing something right. He makes music consumers want not just for musicians. Music is meant to sell. He found a niche on what sales and it has been lucrative. STOP HATING.
He has always been my favorite. And i've watched a lot of his interviews past and present, i can see that he hasn't changed. He remains humble even if he has reached the top. Maybe that's why he is still in the industry. His talent superb. When i listen to him, i feel his passion for music. A lot of artist now are just after fame and ofcourse money, that is why you don't feel the genuine sound.
Straight Talk Maybe the Best Interview of Kenny G., especially the business aspect where there is always a hit and/or a miss, irrespective of one's dedication and ability - whatever the genre. Promotion and Marketing, audie'. Thanks to Clive Davis of ARISTA RECORDS and to Jeff Lornbor who had introduced Kenny to Clive.
He's really interesting, i like what he's saying. I hate it when artists claim that they have "learned" to play an instrument, he's right in saying that you keep learning and keep getting better. Seems like a nice bloke too
I like John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, Wayne Shorter, etc, but I also like Kenny G. I'm not sure why people say he sucks; he sounds great to me, and seems like a really nice guy. I spend about 90% of my waking hours doing stuff I don't want to do, so I am a little envious though too. ; )
***** I agree, Miles Davis wasn't the most affable person apparently, and Charles Mingus was famous for his bad temper, but as I said, I actually like listening to Kenny G, although I know that's not a popular point of view among "serious" Jazz musicians.
***** I like to think of music as a universal language, but some people always want to construct divisions and take ownership of a certain genre. I think the notion of a certain type of music being linked to one's DNA is nonsense; I've heard Japanese and Korean musicians playing wonderful Jazz standards for example. Although I play tenor sax, I actually grew up with Genesis (the early stuff with Peter Gabriel singing, through Wind and Wuthering with Phil Collins on vocals), Pink Floyd, King Crimson, etc, and now listen to a lot of Indie stuff like Broken Bells for example, but there is so much good Jazz and Classical to enjoy as well.
***** Well, I can tell if it's Wayne Shorter or John Coltrane I think, but it doesn't make any difference to me what race the player is; I love Wayne Shorter's music, but I also love Lenny Pickett, Bob Berg, Aubra Graves, Paul Hanson, and Michael Asserbauer (among many others).
Kenny is a versatile player! For those who are not well versed on the breadth of his range of playing go back and listen to him play with Jeff Lorber Fusion! He is a great player and a very nice person who I have had the pleasure of meeting and talking about music and other things over a few cocktails after the 2015 Capital Jazz Festival
I’m gonna get crap for this, but he is one fine musician! Him playing the saxophone makes him sexier than if he was getting involved with toilets. Haters gonna hate, but hey, he played in Johnny Gill’s My, my, my and Babyface’s Everytime (I close my eyes), being asked to play, and at least he’s making more money than some of y’all. Keep doing what you’re doing, Kenny! 😘😘😘🥰🥰🥰
Kenny G is an AMAZING Man! Love what he is doing for Kids but Love this Mans Heart/Soul he’s just AMAZING! A Very Gifted And Unique Man! This is an awesome Interview...
Beautiful that you traspase your knowledge to the kids. It is beautiful to listen to Kenny. He is always talking in an inspiring way. There is love for in what he is doing. You are right sometimes life present us different opportunities. I wander, if it is there an sponsor that make possible that you visit Colombia and perform for the first time.! I leave the door open. Hopefully!
This was a surprisingly prophetic view of the music industry. I don't think there was such a thing as a subscription-based music service back when this was recorded and that seems to be what he's describing
I'm blown away by how humble and wise he is. We need more people like Kenny G and less of all these arrogant asshole 'jazz' players, who all they do is complain about the music business and their audiences. I'm over those guys. They bore me. Kenny G seems happy and grateful. Id rather be like him.
Find Mr. Bloom and give him a little bit of that millions! Kenny, perhaps you can choose your fun Public School(s) and donate Instruments - " straight A-grade" quality instruments👌 Excellent business tips for musicians!
KGSAX, not only is Kenny G ok, he is the King of Smooth Jazz, a Grammy Award winner, #1 Saxophonist in the world, his name has been recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records, he is blessed with a God given gift where he touches peoples' body, soul and mind with his romantic extraordinary jazz master pieces. Kenny G is a phenomenal successful Saxophonist and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Relax, enjoy a Latte from Starbucks!!!!
He's about 6 years older than me and even I remember when music was in all the schools even the poor-ass schools. Now the middle-class and up are keeping it for themselves.
Isn't that the truth: practice, the best people in the world at their art always work really really hard, no matter how much natural talent they might have they still work really hard at it. Look at just the people Kenny referenced; tiger woods, president clinton; they have always worked their asses off to be the best, so no wonder that Kenny has done the same thing
You can start with Stan Getz because hes got some great recordings with music thats very easy to listen to for those not well versed in Jazz. Check out Stan Getz playing the original recordings of Girl from Ipanema with Astrud Gilberto or another song you can check out is Desafinado which Kenny G recorded a version many many years after Stan Getz recorded it
If anything hes made the sax more popular amongst the masses, he has great advice about how to capitalize in todays music business world (Ill make sure to take his advice on that, see, you can learn something from everyone even from Kenny G) and he looks like a really nice guy. Just thought Id educate some of you out there in the masses and hopefully enlighten a few of you about what a true sax master sounds like. Cheers to you all.
Kenny can out play a lot of cats out there! Mad respect from me. How many guys can play a million notes...how many can phrase a melody like kenny? Plus the tone...I'm not a smooth jazz fan but credit is due
As u get better you'll understand. When I first started my musical couldn't comprehend why people say he sucks but now it is very clear how subpar his skill level is
I still don't get it why some Jazz musician hate Kenny G,I played straight Jazz and Smooth Jazz and I really think he is a great player and most of it a humble guy and a great person!
@Interactivesystems Once Berklee and any other great school teaches 'Kenny G theory and technique' I might agree. This stuff is ABC 123 and there is nothing to learn compared to the colors and brilliant innovation of Trane and Bird who are the Mozarts of our time. Anyone who calls Trane or Bird for old folk can never be taken seriously as a musician. When Kenny dies, so will his music. There is nothing worth saving with him. Want to hear new bebop? Go to NYC. Tons happening. Brilliant young cats
Wondering if any haters here realize that if you're busy hating on Kenny G in this thread, that means he already beat you. If he sucks, that's actually worse for you.
These guys are guys like John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Michael Brecker, oh and that other Kenny G not the one you guys know but the one named Kenny Garrett to name a few as well as some of the new more contemporary guys such as Mark Turner, Chris Potter, Joshua Redman, and Seamus Blake. If anything to all you Kenny G fans out there Id like you to give these real sax masters a chance.
The guys I look up to are way beyond Kenny Gs level and my goal as a professional musician is to reach their kind of not only technical level but artistic level as well. These guys are the true masters of the sax and unfortunately they dont get the kind of coverage that a guy like Kenny G does because I guess their music is sometimes too complex for the average Joe to appreciate.
thanks for that very insightful comment I can see you have the education level of a 5th grader, keep up the good work kid, maybe one day you can be a highschool graduate :-)
for me in music Today is to live and let the others live,because almost everywhere here the quality is awfull in Pop,Rock and even in Jazz there is a lot of players who barely can't hear what they playing or hit the changes well and some of then get more Gigs,plus every day less places to play live Jazz,I started to play that Smooth things because I need to earn something,and there is almost not Jazz here in Miami and neither respect for this great music.
@bimwopbarn you're right, if we don't trust in the masses/million of people, tell me why should we trust opinion from what so called vast majority of musicians & other which is much less in numbers..??..haha...& i think it's not wise if you have opinion based on other's especially if you come to judge on other...one last thing before i end this: how many your own's world tour(s) have you done so far?...
hey you have a right to your own opinion, and I never said he's terrible, just that he's not great either but saying Kenny G is better than Coltrane is like saying Briteney spears is better than Aretha Franklin, Kenny G himself admits that he was very lucky to get where he is career wise, he also seems like a very modest and humble guy so I'm sure Kenny G himself would correct you on that one, peace and love ;-)
The thing is this,why are people so mad at him?I'm not his fan,I just think it his music and he make his business and his money and never ask or talk about anyone in the world of jazz,at the Playboy festival every year lately has brought a lot of Salsa bands and nobody complaint about and that's even less close to jazz,but Jazz musician play in the same festival and no complaint,so it just bother me,because I can see kind of jeloussy for others musicians towrad him.that's all
@bimwopbarn: let say his music is shitty, but he's got alot of money because he got the royalti & other kind of payments for his music...that's mean alot (maybe million) of people bought his music (either cds or tickets concert)...so, if million of people still listen to his music, i don't understand if you still say it's a shitty music...
(by the way, Kenny G skips 4 bars from bar 33 to bar 36 of this song because he decided to play The Real Book version which is written incorrectly and that to me is a terrible oversight, again, like I said a very good high school level or first year college level saxophonist). Having said all these things if youre still reading, I think there is a place for Kenny Gs music just like theres a place for Britney Spears.
As a professional saxophonist he's below average, not as terrible as some people like to make him out to be but I can say it's comparable to an above average high school level saxophonist or first year college level sax student. I am a professional saxophonist and have been playing sax for 16 years and Jazz for 13.
What's your problem? I don't know a lot about kenny G but there's nothing in this video that makes him seem arrogant, in fact he seems like a nice guy who's making these videos to help some people. You may not be a fan of his music but I don't think that means you need to act like a jerk.
I like Kenny's stuff with Jeff Lorber and some of his early solo releases, and always thought he could play. He also seems like a good guy. I watched this because I was so disgusted at the way Pat Metheny trashed him.
@Selmerpilot if jazz is for old people then how did herbie hancock get best album of the year in 08 which was only 3 years ago? Digital music ain't superior or innovative. Digital music requires no skill other than playing piano or some generic synth drum pad. Synths can't express the way a human can. Jazz led to many different types of music we listen to today. Jazz gave us Funk which gave us R&B and hip hop as well as ska to some degree. Jazz also worked with blues. I tagged u so u can c.
@Interactivesystems That must be why the finest music schools in the world teach bebop jazz first and foremost then, not to mention the greatest players alive are bebop schooled players. Chris Potter anyone? Kenny's stuff is more about selling records to idiots than an art from a la Bird or Coltrane. It's not respect of those who know little about the music that counts, it's respect of piers. One thing is for sure, amongst the best saxists Kenny is not a thought in their minds.
are you kidding coltrane's the greatest saxophonist from back in the day! If you think that coltrane's stuff is bs then you're clearly wrong! Without him kenny g probably wouldn't be here today! Do you have any idea how good this man was? For him saxo came so easy that it was like talking to someone. You clearly have a lot to learn about music! You should get your ass a plane ticket to the US and take a class at a college on history of pop music.
@Interactivesystems Let's gather up all the oil painters, sculptors, Italian panel-beaters, and any other analogue form of art and tell them they are irrelevant and stupid because what they are doing has been done for hundreds of years and is boring. Are you insane? Nothing new in Jazz? Are you serious? Chris Potter, Jon Gordon, George Garzone, Nick Vagenas, Patrick Cornelius, Bob Reynolds, the list goes on and on of new sounds in jazz. Jazz has no limits like digital has.
@FeedbackFilmsBand Interactivesystems stated below that real jazz is for old people and is boring and irrelevant compared to Kenny G or other forms of digital music which are supposedly innovative and superior.
@dell4bq i like kenny.g's music...i don't care what you say, kenny makes alot of money...and how about you?...never heard your name NOR your music before...just poor of you...just poor of you...hahaha
Kenny G is not stupid and there's no question that he can play the saxophone....his music just sucks, from one bebopper to the next, I get it, but have some respect for his success.
You're the only one that calls coltrane's music noise which voids your arguement. If more than 1 person disagrees with you then you'/re wrong. That's a fact of life. You probably can't even improv over 12 bar blues. You probably don't know what a 2-5-1 progession is! I'd like to see you solo over changes to blue bossa or Mr. Pc. Why don't you come back to me in a million yrs when you've learned what Jazz really is cause you're showing me that you know notin' about Jazz by call it noise!0
Honestly I'm not a fan of any of Kenny G's music because it's very predictable, the arrangements of the covers he's done which I guess he mostly does covers right??? Not so sure on that one please correct me if I'm wrong, anyway his arrangements don't add anything new or exciting to the originals, he's just repeating the same thing that was done vocally on sax.
