An Evening With Kenny G

This event has been rescheduled from September 18, 2021 to July 9, 2022. If you have any questions, please contact the Box Office at [email protected]

Door Time: 6:30 PM

Showtime: 7:30 PM

A phenomenally successful instrumentalist whose recordings routinely made the pop, R&B, and jazz charts during the 1980s and โ€™90s, Kenny Gโ€™s sound became a staple on adult contemporary and smooth jazz radio stations. Heโ€™s 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 โ€œcontemporary jazzโ€ charts and is identified with jazz in the minds of the mass public, he is classified as jazz.

Kenny Gorelick started playing professionally withย Barry Whiteโ€™sย Love Unlimited Orchestraย 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 withย Jeff Lorber Fusion, making two albums with the group. Soon he was signed toย Arista, recording his debut as a leader in 1982. His fourth album, Duotones (which included the very popular โ€œSongbirdโ€), made him into a star. Soon he was in demand for guest appearances on recordings of such famous singers asย Aretha Franklin,ย Whitney Houston, andย Natalie Cole. Kenny Gโ€™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. The holiday album Miracles, released in 1994, and 1996โ€™s Moment continued the momentum of his massive commercial success. He also recorded his own version of theย Celine Dion/Titanic smash โ€œMy Heart Will Go Onโ€ in 1998, but the following year he released Classics in the Key of G, a collection of jazz standards like โ€œโ€˜Round Midnightโ€ and โ€œBody and Soul,โ€ possibly to reclaim some jazz credibility.

In 2008, Kenny G released the Latin-inspired Rhythm and Romance. The sax player next drifted toward R&B for 2010โ€™s Heart and Soul, which featured guest vocals from Robin Thicke and Babyface. A collection with Rahul Sharma called Namaste followed in 2012, and in 2015 Kenny G released a tribute to bossa nova titled Brazilian Nights, which peaked at number one on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. In 2017, G kept up his active concert schedule, even pairing with fellow smooth jazz legend George Benson for the limited engagement Breezinโ€™ & Breathless Tour. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi

*All ticket purchases subject to service fee.ย ย ย 

 

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