My Take on the Kenny G Documentary | See You At The Gig

[@NathanSMadsen]

Variety is the spice of life. There are some highly technical, complex genres of music that just don't care for... prog rock being one of them. But I respect it and I respect those who can do that artform well. Kenny does what works for him and there's a large audience that appreciate his stuff. Not everyone does and that's okay. I really loved your commentary on this one - nicely done!

[@sampowellmusic]

i love jazz and i love kenny G. so there.

[@johnwilson1997]

Dont think G is capable of playing Jazz

[@Pablo-cl6pu]

And? The comment didn't say that​@@johnwilson1997

[@tewbaguy]

I grew up in Seattle looking up to Kenny g. Seattle had a few notable jazz players in the city, but really not that many. It was (in the 70’s and 80’s) an R&B town. If you played horn, you played in funk bands, not jazz groups. Kenny played in house bands for Barry White, the Temptations, and many other r&b bands that came through town, and since was a very good sight reader, he was a first call saxophone player in Seattle. The funk and he played in was the best in the city, and was very very funky. Eventually, he and his band started opening for touring groups such as Pleasure, Tower of Power, and I believe he opened for Grover a few times, which is where I think he developed his fan base. But, he always stayed in his lane. His stint with Jeff Lorber was about as “far out” as he got, to my knowledge. And for that genre, it was really good stuff. Anyway, my point is that he was always true to his vision, and took whatever the industry or market gave to him. Then he made a lot of money. Hard for me to be mad about that. I personally learned a lot from him, watching career, and even listening to him when I first started out. Even though I’ve gone a different direction musically, I still consider him an influence on my career. Thanks for this post. More people need to hear and learn about the business we are in.

[@ajaxdrumz]

Grateful for your input! Thank you

[@prospetiva3d]

People can say what they want to say about KG but he brought “Jazz” back to mainstream radio. This was a time when any type of Jazz was unpopular to non-jazz listeners.. I grew up playing the saxophone in high school and continued playing both with the symphony orchestra and the jazz band of my University and KG made the sax “cool” so I thank him! and I enjoyed his music! I still play silhouette on gigs from time to time and people would go crazy! 😂

[@VailJohnson]

Well said, Ali. Cheers! Vail (bass for kenny since 1986!)

[@carolynking4828]

Why oh why are people so horrible to Kenny G???????? I really love his music, it's so beautiful! I've recently taken up the soprano sax, and Kenny G is my inspiration. I love watching and listening to him playing, and I would love to see him in concert too! God bless you dear Kenny G, and keep making your beautiful music for millions of people to enjoy. Xxx

[@backbeatben]

great thoughts on the subject!

[@chantelle5246]

I love you my guy, thanks for talking about Kenny G👑🔥

[@bobwinett4289]

Bob Winett Ali I started my day listening to your post on Kenny G this morning from beginning to end with full attention. God Bless you for taking the time to create your take on the Kenny G Documentary . I have never been on the bandwagon of being Kenny G detractor . The majority of my Jazz community and fellow musicians ..not so nice on the subject. I always figured ...who is he hurting ???? whether it is my cup of tea or not.I remember listening to a standard on sax and liking it and said to my self wow who in the hell is this and it wound up being Kenny G...... a turning point for me and I started to stand my on ground and claimed my own space to have an opinion not driven by others on this subject. You take demonstrates truth , intelligence and an open mind. Good for you. I plan on sharing this post with a number of musicians ..I would be surprised if the majority will take the time to listen to it as they have Thier opinions on the subject set in cement.....In a sense the strong detractors for the most part have not had a documentary made on thier life and well as putting out as much music and have a fraction of the acceptance. Life is Good ....Peace

[@ajaxdrumz]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

[@bobwinett4289]

Thank you Ali....I have been sharing this with some of my more open minded Musicians...I hope to play music with you one day on a session........Be well

[@karimgideon]

I agree. Music must be assessable to the people, and Kenny G has done this. Some may not like it, but something to think about. It is the reason why Miles Davis's music is still assessable.

[@juromori]

Wow great video! I think it is the best about the topic here on yt.

[@jamesadams8022]

I agree with you 100%

[@MotownFan75]

Nice analysis!

[@dianereed8597]

You know At The End of The Day I believe certain People Must Be Jealous to say anything regarding ‘Kenny G’ because There is ‘No One’ like Him that puts The Hard work into His Music with HIS HEART … it’s Being Who YOU Truly are and being Not just Unique but Creating His Special Techniques in what He Likes and He will go Above And Beyond Words and HE WILL Make Sure It’s Absolutely AMAZING! Look what He Did With Ft. Stan Getz in Legacy it was INCREDIBLE The Work He put into it and Look at His Melodies His Creations they Absolutely Blow you AWAY! Certain People are JUST JEALOUS because HE is Outstanding and always Will be Electrifying with ‘His Sound’ because it is KENNY G being Himself and HE is Will make sure it’s Going to be Fantastic and Loved in what HE Creates! HE is ‘One of a Kind’ that knows what Works with Creating it to he Special with His Partner In Crime and HE DID and always Will because HE is Loved Worldwide!

[@dmgsoultogetherness6667]

so..picture this...im in nyc on holiday from Scotland uk...1996 i think.. while out on the town,we end up at (smalls jazz club).. and that night..Wynton marsalis is playing !!!!!!!.. and who is on drums...yup Stand up Mr jackson....a night i will always remember

[@thescatman5029]

I saw the doc. All the points about his diligence, work ethic and study are correct. Did Black disc jockeys and Black producers help blow him up? Yes! Frankie Crocker used to blow up the Kashif-produced "Hi, How Ya Doin'?" on WBLS, while Pat Prescott and Vaughn Harper playing the Narada-produced "Songbird" and "Midnight Motion" made those songs both smooth jazz and quiet storm standards. One thing, I can "respect," though, is the fact that he took every element of jazz, threw it all out and created his own style. We may get mad for him "throwing out" Miles and Coltrane. But don't we want people to stop "biting" everyone else? And didn't Miles "throw out" all his own past elements, when creating fusion?

[@soniaberton9253]

Kenny G’s music 🎶 resonates with me and millions of other people. He is very talented and creates beautiful songs and that’s all that matters. If his music makes people happy and feel good, he’s contributed an amazing thing into this world. like your take on it.

[@johnwilson1997]

I cant see any beauty in what Mr G does. Pat is right about his phrasng and intonation.

[@soniaberton9253]

@@johnwilson1997 well you’re certainly entitled to your own opinion but he hasn’t sold over 75 million records worldwide for nothing! He’s a very talented, creative and intelligent man🎷that’s very attractive to most!

[@bohanicalvinbaloyi804]

Kenny G is not a Jazz artist. He is an artist that plays music that he creates. We love him for that. And he does not have to change.

[@agnetesorensenelbom5085]

👍👍👍

[@samueloluyinkaojomu6548]

What is Jazz

[@agnetesorensenelbom5085]

@@samueloluyinkaojomu6548 Good question 😊😉👍

[@smoothvelvetsinger]

Very good points made👍 Kenny G doesn't hurt jazz, because jazz people know the difference between him and jazz. Him making a duet with Louis is something I don't want to listen to, and I've never heard it.. But he's not making the original Louis Armstrong song unavailable. It's still there for everyone to hear. Kenny has a positive vibe and a lovely tone at least😊 Coltrane and Parker not being heartfelt for him. Now that's priceless😂

[@mainsblanches8793]

By the way, I know a few free jazz musicians that sometimes felt the same about Pat Metheny!!...exept Metheny is a true jazz musician, he just made jazz "a bit" more accessible, but with strong jazz statements!!...he just does'nt play standards that much, or should I say he plays more "recent" jazz standards from more recent and modern composers!!...

[@jazzzzdude]

I like Kenny G. And I like Kenny Garret, and Grover Washington and Pat Methey and John Coltrane. I also like Duran Duran and Amy Macdonald and Steely Dan and Mozart and Debussy. No one owns the right to what the definition of jazz is so all conversations about whether or not something is jazz are stupid anyway. If you like something, that's fine.

[@SeanLeonDrumz]

Ali! What's the reason we don't see you with the JLCO anymore?

[@FindleyOcean]

I love jazz and I love Kenny g. I jive with the fact Kenny isn’t a true jazz player, fine by me, he’s music is just another flavor.

[@donaldissitt1082]

When I was in music school, there was a persistent myth that somebody had heard one of the professors saying he knew a guy (who knew a guy who knew a guy) who said he saw Kenny G walk into a jam late at night in New York one time and rip a few choruses on Giant Steps, leave everyone speechless, and walk out

[@donaldissitt1082]

Surely this was made up. Nonetheless, he did recently do a guest spot on a track by a black metal band (Merkurius Gilded by Imperial Triumphant, if you're curious) together with his son Max, who apparently was formerly a guitarist in the band. It was a good song and his contribution was honestly pretty cool. But it took me by surprise as a very out-of-character appearance for him, and I'm really curious if anybody else is aware of any other particularly odd recorded guest appearances of his.

[@nickmastro6870]

@@donaldissitt1082 Might be real. In a recent interview, he says that he's played Giant Steps a lot (and transcribed it originally by ear)- and that he also practices faithfully every morning for 3 hours. I think he COULD play a lot faster and "out", but he's just into different music. And that's OK, I don't know why people have such a problem with him existing

[@MrGabrielJude]

This seems to be a phenomenon that happens with “categorized” genres of music. When indie, grunge, and ska, funk type rock groups came out into the pop world, the “underground” followers always seem to get upset. It’s sad that jazz connoisseurs whom I’ve always regarded since I was a kid, as above average in music knowledge and theory than the average music fan, is prone to doing the same thing as a bunch of high school teenagers… I love all music, love it enough to not give it boundaries. Side note: I’m appalled Michael Brecker wasn’t given an honorable mentioned.

[@sythe77]

G is the cereal box of Jazz.

[@tkat191]

Naw He’s the music selling goat 💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐

[@ghengismcgillicutty4695]

Well said Ali! Pat Metheny was the first jazz artist who turned me from being mostly a rock fan to being mostly a jazz fan. Pat was a “gateway” artist for me for which I will always be grateful. Even though I never connected with Mr G’s music, I’ve been more than a little disappointed that a revered artist such as Pat would make negative comments about another artist exploring a much more commercial path. Pat has travelled a much more varied path than Kenny but some aspects of his music run somewhat parallel to K g’s. Is it too much to imagine that Kenny might be a gateway artist leading some to Pat and beyond? Side note: Anyone keeping the music of the saxophone heard in pop music deserves some props.

[@75Chopin]

Technically Kenny G is not playing jazz as the amount of improvisation in his music is so limited except he does a phenomenal cadenza-like improvisation that interestingly is not really jazzy, but perhaps even more classical-like. But those improvisations are not really intergrated into the music that well.

[@75Chopin]

He knows that his audience are not into real jazz. He has to explain jazz history in concert!

[@FernieCanto]

I'm really curious about that documentary. I've come to believe that many of the qualms and beefs between musical genres and styles comes more not from how the music is made and played, but from how it's marketed and distributed. The music that shot Kenny G into stardom is melodic, sweet, easy to remember, and anyone can him. It's somewhere in the range of easy listening and adult contemporary. But the industry realised that, by labelling it "smooth jazz", they could make the public feel "sophisticated" by listening to it. I (perhaps naively) think that, if music weren't so attached to such labels, many of those grievances would just fizzle out. Like, does Kenny G play "jazz"? The real question is, does it really matter? I think we suffer from the erroneous belief that music is "better" when it's jazz, or that people have "better taste" for listening to jazz. In the end, I'm just not a fan of the tone and timbre of Kenny G's playing, but I think he can write some good melodies. I don't think he's a "bad musician", but I just don't personally connect with his sound.

[@MotownFan75]

I concur 100%

[@BlackRootsAcademyOfSoul]

I actually had a cassette of Kenny G in the 90's, kinda enjoyed it for what it was, until I landed on a cassette with Spyrogyra. That messed me up! And then, I landed on Archie Schepp, my birthday mate Miles Davis, Metheny then dug even deeper. From then on, not sure why, but that Kenny G tone started irritating me.... And by the way, I listen to Contemporary Jazz; Najee, Gerald Albright, Marcus Miller etc etc. Kenny G chose his path, it works great for him, he's very successful. More power to him. Some call Smooth Jazz "Jazz for people who don't like Jazz". However, I do get the point that Jazz cats are making. If I was to choose which Horn player I wanna be, it wouldn't be Kenny G, it would be Kenny Garrett for instance, and the like. That's alright too. It's all choices and opinions I guess. Thanks for the video. Greetings from Uganda 🇺🇬👊🏿🖤

[@ThePragmo]

So in a way you could say, you were alright 👍🏾 while the Kenny G tape was playing then all this other stuff (especially from some who are critical of Kenny G) came and "messed you up". Right? 😃

[@BlackRootsAcademyOfSoul]

@@ThePragmo yeap. "Messed me" into taking a tangent into Fusion, Bebop etc etc.

[@wvtrumpet]

The Dude can play. Just check out the stuff he did with Jeff Lorber. Man, there is room for everyone. Like you said, be true and sincere. Just because I don’t really dig what he does doesn’t mean he is valid.

[@Jwellsuhhuh]

Kenny g haters are just salty musicians that poured effort into complex jazz that doesn’t move the general audience. People need to realize that complexity doesn’t always correlate with likability. Yes smooth jazz is boring and easy from a technical perspective, but it WORKS

[@BlackRootsAcademyOfSoul]

Is that right? Salty Musicians?

[@RJ-ph5zg]

@@BlackRootsAcademyOfSoul Yes SALTY, are you one of them?

[@jonnobloggs8642]

Kenny G's smooth funky jazz is like an exciting all action blockbuster Jazz snobs incessant chromatic shredding is like a box set on The History Of Trigonometry.

[@ArikShahar]

👍👍👍👍👍That's the truth

[@MarkRodgers]

I totally disagree. Tweedle Dee is doing crap. It is most definitely not Jazz. Pat Metheny is absolutely correct. The fact that he sells records is testimony to the fact that millions of people have deaf ears. The thing he did to Louis Armstrong's music is sacrilege. It was NOT a duet. It was musical necrophilia.

[@johnwilson1997]

Mark You and Pat are dead right.

[@johnwilson1997]

Well said.

[@jonnobloggs8642]

Saucer of milk for Mark after that huge meow 😻 🐈 🐈‍⬛️

[@bill3837]

Yeah I remember Kimmy gGorelick when he played with Jeff lorber Fusion. Back then he sounded a lot like Grover. Im a jazz Musician. I think he is a Really good sax player. I dont listen to that type od jazz as my go to. I

[@rinahall]

Bird himself sarted smooth jazz with ''Bird and strings'', Duke with ''nutcracker suite'', Satchmo with ''hello dolly'', Brubeck with Disney etc. In fact mainstream jazz IS smooth.

[@johnwilson1997]

Bird with string still had great playing at its core. Mr G is a jazz imposter.

[@SecretSauce8]

Kenny G is not jazz. he plays pop music with a saxophone. That's why so many people like him, because he's NOT playing jazz. Kenny G is the McDonald's of music.

[@75Chopin]

Actually Kenny G confesses that he is not really playing real Jazz, as he would switch to “improvized jazz” (actually announces it in concert), and yah he sucks in it.

[@deepdiver3084]

Kenny G (real name Kenny Gorelick) is not jazz. He has created a new genre. It’s chazz. Cheese jazz.

[@jeboccuzzi10]

The White Grover Washington Jr ??? Sad.

[@cullenbrownmusic]

theres no defending this clown

[@sammyrothrock6981]

Grover ,Sanborn and Boney are the real deal! G is lame

[@johnwilson1997]

Yes he is lame

[@mainsblanches8793]

Kenny G = boring and redundent!!...always the same "sound", always the same "mood", always the same "riffs", the same style of "chords," the same style of "melody", etc...

[@truewilliams7118]

You just described commercial hip hop for the past 15 years. And please don’t say “I don’t like that either!!” The point is the most popular genre is repetitive too - why single out KG?

[@johnwilson1997]

Yup.

[@deepdiver3084]

Dude. Kenny Gorelick is a total sell out. He held the record for longest held note. That’s not musical. It’s a sell out.

[@albertofontana3480]

Duke Ellington: "There are two kinds of music, the good amd the not so good" Kenny G definitely is in the second group. And Im not even talking about his technique. Im talking about his spiri, his soul. Kenny has no spirit. He has no soul. He is a just a bussiness man. He is embarrasing.