Kenny G Live

Performer: Kenny G
Artist: Michael Bolton
Producer: Kenny G
Distributor: BMG (distributor)

Notes: 2 LPs on 1 CD. Personnel includes: Kenny G (saxophone); Michael Bolton (vocals). Recorded live at the Opera House, Seattle, Washington on August 26 & 27, 1989 with the exception of the studio recording of "Don't Make Me Wait For Love" with Michael Bolton. Quite often, so-called smooth jazz artists who are mindlessly predictable in the studio become a lot more spontaneous and risk-taking on-stage. Playing for themselves instead of pandering to radio, they're much more inclined to let loose. Released as both a two-LP set and as a single CD, Kenny G Live is an improvement over 1986's Duotones and 1988's Silhouette, the knee-jerk studio recordings that made him a superstar. The saxophonist lets loose on the funky "Midnight Motion" and the catchy "I've Been Missin' You," which he co-wrote with R&B singer Kashif for 1983's G Force. There are also two new studio offerings, "Going Home" and "Uncle Al." ~ Alex Henderson Quite often, so-called smooth jazz artists who are mindlessly predictable in the studio become a lot more spontaneous and risk-taking on-stage. Playing for themselves instead of pandering to radio, they're much more inclined to let loose. But Kenny G Live was only a slight improvement over 1986's Duotones and 1988's Silhouette, the knee-jerk studio recordings that made him a superstar. Released as both a two-LP set and as a single CD, Kenny G Live contains only a few decent offerings. The saxophonist actually lets loose on the funky "Midnight Motion" and the catchy "I've Been Missin' You," which he co-wrote with R&B singer Kashif for 1983's G Force. But he demonstrates how boring, corny, and toothless his playing can be on "Esther," "Home," and "Silhouette." Equally soulless are "Don't Make Me Wait for Love" (which features the very contrived pop singer Michael Bolton), and two new studio offerings, "Going Home" and "Uncle Al." Kenny G Live's weaknesses by far outweigh its strengths, making this a release that should be avoided. ~ Alex Henderson

Saxophonist Kenny G first gained attention as Kenny Gorelick, a member of second-tier jazz-fusion group the Jeff Lorber Fusion. After going solo, he developed a hyper-slick, instrumental pop sound that featured simple melodies played over gentle beds of jazzy mood music. With the help of clever promotion and marketing from Clive Davis's Arista Records, Kenny G's albums sold millions, and the saxophonist became one of the world's most famous modern instrumentalists. His success caused a great deal of debate in the jazz community, as his sound owed as much to Muzak and easy listening as it did to "serious" jazz.

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