Kenny G is back with The Essential Kenny G, an anthology of his greatest hits

Kenny G has long been the musician many jazz listeners love to hate. A phenomenally successful instrumentalist whose recordings make the pop charts, 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. While the smooth jazz saxophonist may get under the skin of purists, his gentle, melodically focused playing has made one of the most popular instrumentalists of all time. Celebrating his 50th birthday this coming July 6, he has a string of accolades to his name, from the Grammys to the American Music Awards, and he even has a star of his own on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. Twenty years since the five-times platinum breakthrough recording of 1986, Duotones, Kenny G is back with The Essential Kenny G, an anthology of his greatest hits. It includes over 2 1/2 hours of music with 31 tracks ranging from his self-titled debut album of 1982 through his most recent studio release of 2004, At Last…The Duets Album. The album features guest artists including Aaron Neville, Smokey Robinson, Peabo Bryson, Earth Wind and Fire, Michael Bolton, Lenny Williams and a virtual Louis Armstrong.

All hits, appearances with guest stars, holiday songs, and unusual covers

The Essential Kenny G may be the best Kenny G collection on the market. With a series of greatest-hits collections being issued and repackaged over the past few years, this installment of the Essential series puts them all to shame. It's far more inclusive and thorough than most collections. Kenny G (G for Gorelick) handpicked all 31 tracks from 14 albums, which include chart-topping tracks such as Songbird, the theme from the Campbell Scott movie Dying Young, Sade, The Moment, and Forever In Love. The album covers all of his hits, appearances with guest stars, holiday songs, and unusual covers (his version of, believe it or not, Outkast's The Way You Move, performed with Earth, Wind and Fire). This is, quite simply, all the Kenny G one could ever possibly need or want; compact enough to satisfy casual listeners, and broad enough to satisfy the legions of fans that flock to the man. There is a great deal of wonderful songs scattered throughout the album, making for hours of listening enjoyment for smooth jazz fans. Even if you already own Kenny G’s Greatest Hits album, there’s enough new material and new arrangement of old to make The Essential Kenny G a worthwhile purchase.

Smooth and sophisticated odes to romance, passion and spirituality

With his warm and wondrous tone and texture, Kenny G is The First Gentleman of Jazz. His saxophone takes us to places that quicken our senses and delight our imagination. As a teenaged member of Barry White’s Love United Orchestra, Kenny learned about sensuality and seduction from a master, and over the course of his spectacular career he’s applied those lessons to make smooth and sophisticated odes to romance, passion and spirituality. His gift is a treasure, and The Essential Kenny G is his gift to you. The music of Kenny G is not something that’s easy to actively listen to; it stealthily slips into the background, becoming the mere undercurrent to whatever one may be actively experiencing at that time. Before you know it, you almost forget that you’re listening to it at all, but the melodies get filed away somewhere subconsciously and stick with you. Later on you’ll hear one of his songs again and you’ll feel like you know every note. At his best, Kenny G’s music is hauntingly beautiful and the new album The Essential Kenny G is a great collection for showing off his range with a variety of his greatest hits and personal favorites.

08.02.2006