Kenny G...."Banker"

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

"Kenny G, who once played at President Bill
Clinton's inaugural ball, wakes up every
morning to Starbucks. The saxophonist
doesn't drink coffee. Instead, the man whose
real name is Kenny Gorelick, obsessively
checks the company's stock price.

Gorelick was one of the first investors in
the Seattle-based chain. He was introduced
to Starbucks chief Howard Schultz through
an uncle, before the company went public,
and soon bought a stake. Shares are up
more than 12,000 per cent since beginning
public trade.

That success helped spark a stock-trading
habit that consumes his attention as his
music earning potential is eaten away by
digital music, which pays less than physical
album sales, and online piracy. These days,
Gorelick spends his mornings in front of his
computer screen, trading blocs of shares of
the approximately 30 companies in his
portfolio. Over the past decade, he has
earned about as much money from stock
trading as from music, he says."....Independent, today.


Well, an obvious career progession...

BN.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

...cat has to eat ....

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

...cat has to eat ....

.....Cake.

BN.

[Serial_Apologist]

Do I take a principled stand on this, and stop having Gorelick in my food?

[Ian Thumwood]

I always find the likes of Kenny G intriguing as they are allegedly extremely popular (you only have to listen to the playlist of Jazz FM) but no one ever seems to be a fan or really in to this kind of music. I've only ever encountered two people who have professed to liking Smooth Jazz despite this being almost a sub-genre. I'm not convinced this stuff is as popular as it was in the 1980's / early 1990's and it is now an idiom that is seen as fit to lampoon as demonstrated by the recent MOPDTK album.

It does seem a bit harsh that Kenny G gets singled out for criticism whereas the likes of Kirk Whalum, Gerald Albright and Richard Eliott seem to escape the abuse. What about the likes of guitarist Peter White - never heard anyone give him any abuse despite producing music as insipid as Kenny G. I feel that this music is bland and only superficially resembles jazz. What is strange is that I don't feel these musicians have the same kind of pretentions that you would expect genuine jazz musicians to produce and whilst comments like "contemporary" get thrown at this kind of music from less savvy and discerning critics and fans, Kenny G's music sounds pretty dated these days. It's a bit like Miles "Tutu" - it sounded pretty good when it came out yet jazz has developed to such an extent that this music has been passed by. (Even though I would have to admit that Marcus Miller is fantastic as a live act - something I very much doubt you could say about Kenny G.)

It is strange how musical idioms come and go. In the 1980's there seemed a genuine need for pop music to take a more "intelligent" approach as it became more produced and processed so that the music sounded pretty artificial. I think that this helped with New Age and Smooth jazz gaining a toe hold as pop music became more demanding. I can't imagine than the audience for New Age or Smooth Jazz has ever encroached on the jazz market as genuine jazz fans are notoriously more demanding. In light of this, the hatred of Kenny G seems a bit odd. You might as well hate the music of Madonna, Prince or Michael Jackson that was popular at the same time. Given that CD sales are down, the "need" for a Kenny G is not necessary and the rise in self-produced records only exacerbates the phenomena.

I think that the jazz audience is always mistrustful of anything seen as" popularist" or commercial despite this being a view not always reflected by jazz musicians. This has been an issue since the 1930's when black big bands were prevented from recording "commercial" material because labels like Decca knew that the "hot" number would sell better. Accordingly, the records by the likes of Fletcher Henderson are distorted as the proportion of jazz numbers on disc far exceeds the proportion within the band's book! By the time Be-bop had emerged, the stance had hardened and it took the jazz-rock / fusion boom of the 1970's to happen before jazz was able to reconcile itself with more popular idioms only for the lack of consensus from the mid 1980's to make anything possible / fashionable - even if solely from an ironic point of view.

I suppose that the most obvious comparison with Kenny G in the stakes of "popular saxophone" if you wanted to cast the net further back would be someone like Earl Bostic. However, I think Bostic had a much better tone and would probably have roasted Kenny G from a technical point of view if the stories about what he did to Charlie Parker are true. For his worth, Bostic was a genuine jazz musician and the accounts that I have read about his musicianship suggest someone who deserves far more credit. A list of musicians who worked with his bands is hugely impressive in addition to the famous example of John Coltrane. Taking the idea of popular saxophone even further, wouldn't it be possible to make a comparison between Kenny G and the Coltrane / Hartman collaboration which similar must have been a record with one eye on the cash register even if the result is something of a classic?

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Pat Metheny....

"But when Kenny G decided that it was
appropriate for him to defile the music
of the man who is probably the greatest
jazz musician that has ever lived by
spewing his lame-ass, jive, pseudo
bluesy, out-of-tune, noodling, wimped
out, fucked up playing all over one of the
great Louis's tracks (even one of his
lesser ones), he did something that I
would not have imagined possible. He, in
one move, through his unbelievably
pretentious and calloused musical
decision to embark on this most cynical
of musical paths, shit all over the graves
of all the musicians past and present
who have risked their lives by going out
there on the road for years and years
developing their own music inspired by
the standards of grace that Louis
Armstrong brought to every single note
he played over an amazing lifetime as a
musician. By disrespecting Louis, his
legacy and by default, everyone who has
ever tried to do something positive with
improvised music and what it can be,
Kenny G has created a new low point in
modern culture - something that we all
should be totally embarrassed about -
and afraid of. We ignore this, "let it
slide", at our own peril.

His callous disregard for the larger issues
of what this crass gesture implies is
exacerbated by the fact that the only
reason he possibly have for doing
something this inherently wrong (on
both human and musical terms) was for
the record sales and the money it would
bring.

Since that record came out - in protest,
as insignificant as it may be, I encourage
everyone to boycott Kenny G recordings,
concerts and anything he is associated
with. If asked about Kenny G, I will diss
him and his music with the same passion
that is in evidence in this little essay."


So, not a fan then?


BN.

[Ian Thumwood]

This was an incident that happened over ten years ago. Louis' music endures but Kenny G's has slid in to obscurity. Whilst I concur with Pat Metheny's comments, the saxophonist is a pop artist and the treatment of the Armstrong track is not something that out of the ordinary. Kenny G is a cynic but perhaps no different from pop musicians and Rappers sampling from other tunes. I don't think Kenny G warrants critical comment but he is not unique in the kind of anodyne music he produces and there are others equally deserving.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

"KENNY G: ....Charlie Parker would
squeak a lot, and that’s why they called him
Bird, because his reed would chirp.

TP: You think that’s why they called him
Bird? That’s interesting.

KENNY G: That IS why they called him Bird.
That was the deal. He played so fast, and his
reed would chirp because it…I don’t know, it
just couldn’t take the speed of his fingers. But
Sonny Stitt used to do it without the chirping
thing, and played beautiful. But I don’t think
he ever got the same acclaim"

Priceless. I had to read this interview twice to ck it wasn't early Lenny Bruce.


BN.

[burning dog]

I don't think his music is Jazz , even smooth Jazz. Was he really played on Jazz FM much? I remember people like Art Porter** and Grover Washington Jnr. who were more related to "Black" music. He plays kind of generic easy listening instrumentals of the"Sax on the Beach" variety which do not usually credit the musicians, which is why he sold so many records without being many peoples favourite. "Someone's gotta do it, I guess" and it doesn't matter much, but he does deserve contempt for dissing Parker etc. Mantovani wasn't in the habit of rubbishing Mozart.

** Gerald Albright is a better example

[cloughie]

I don't think his music is Jazz , even smooth Jazz. Was he really played on Jazz FM much? I remember people like Art Porter** and Grover Washington Jnr. who were more related to "Black" music. He plays kind of generic easy listening instrumentals of the"Sax on the Beach" variety which do not usually credit the musicians, which is why he sold so many records without being many peoples favourite. "Someone's gotta do it, I guess" and it doesn't matter much, but he does deserve contempt for dissing Parker etc. Mantovani wasn't in the habit of rubbishing Mozart.

** Gerald Albright is a better example

I guess he's the role model for karaoke buskers!

[Serial_Apologist]

Shag attack alert: I was once asked if Kenny Garrett was this same man...

[Ian Thumwood]

Clearly Kenny G is an idiot but I don't see why his opinion really matters. I would be a bit like hearing Noel Gallagher's opinion of Wes Montgomery - it is on no consequence and would be made by someone unable to give a sound judgement.

I'd forgotten about Art Porter and only heard of him when his tragic death was reported on Radio 3 whose bulletin suggested that he was a significant jazz musician. Grover Washington is perhaps more interesting as he was capable of playing jazz and did collaborate with Sonny Rollins. I'm not sure if there is a recording of this but you can read a review here:-

http://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/24/arts/pop-jazz-two-virtuoso-saxophonists-at-town-hall-tomorrow.html

There are a good number of musicians who work in the same idiom like Walter Beasley and Najee - no one ever takes notice of their music or opinions but I suppose if you have a poodle perm and slate Charlie Parker you are going to attract brickbats.

I agree a bit about some of this music plundering from Black music yet the fact the saxophones are cut and pasted over the kind of backing that deserves the Karaoke comparison negates this totally. It's a strange kind of music that is effectively harmless yet is amazingly irritating. I find it totally depressing to listen to and lacking variety in all perspectives. That said, I would hazard a guess and say that the main demographic buying these kind of records are likely to be middle aged, middle class women. This music will have the same audience as the likes of Seal, Luther Vandross, etc, etc and should never be confused with any of the kinds of audience for jazz whether this is beery traditionalists, wannabe "hip students" , sandal and sock wearing Guardian readers stroking their beards or your pipe-smoking Ed Reardon / Trevor Cooper variety buried beneath a mound of yellowing album sleeves.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Since I posted the original piece, not in any outrage but more in jest, I have this afternoon listened to "The Best of Kenny G" (no sniggering at the back) and it is indeed truly bloody awful by any standards, even the pop of the era. I can just imagine Lady Di weeping to it before she hurled herself down the stairs in a big ball of Prada. There used to be a guy in Bath/Bristol who did this stuff in the 70/80s to backing tapes. Certainly far better that Kenny but for far smaller change. There was maybe one in every town. How did KG get the BIG gig?

I think Metheny's "don't let it pass" was right then but as the general view now is that Ken G is a clown in all aspects its no longer any issue. Not that he cares as he counts the 'bucks at Bucks.

BN.

[burning dog]

Since I posted the original piece, not in any outrage but more in jest, I have this afternoon listened to "The Best of Kenny G" (no sniggering at the back) and it is indeed truly bloody awful by any standards, even the pop of the era.
BN.

That's the point.... for example the only reason he would get a gig with the fore mentioned Luther Vandross would have been because LvD's record company said "Can't we get that Kenny Gee guy?, He sells records by the bucket load" I really doubt there is much overlap of the audience for both of them. Ive known some Vandross fans but have never come across a KG fan in "Real Life" Their type of sax would be Sanborn or Grover I'd reckon

[Ian Thumwood]

BD

I heard Sanborn perform live several years back and would have to totally disagree with you as he is definitely jazz. There are big dollops of Cannonball in his playing and whilst he might have gone electric back in the 80's, it's worth while noting that he made his name with Gil Evans. The latest disc of his features Bobby Hutcherson, Billy Hart and Joey DeFrancesco - hardly the pop shite of Kenny G. The sample on Amazon sound good, as you would expect with that kind of band.

Bluesnik

I think listening to the "Best of Kenny G" is a bit beyond the call of duty. Apparently his biggest influences were Barry White (no pun intended) and Stan Getz! I'm still waiting for his version of "Spirits Rejoice!

I didn't realise that he was so old. Apparently he is now 58 and therefore well overdue to get rid of the blow-dried perm. I think this thread should now be amended as a show of respect for Kenny G and perhaps it could be changed to the worst hair cuts in jazz ? I nominate Art Pepper's creepy 1970's barnet but other suggestions would be appreciated..................