Showbiz Analysis with Kenny G

Grammy Award-winning jazz saxophonist Kenny G is used to breaking the mold when it comes to music. And this month, the Billboard chart-topping artist with record sales of over 75 million is poised to do it again with the release of his new album Brazilian Nights (Concord Records) on Jan. 27. So I was thrilled to have had the opportunity to chat with Kenny G on my podcast Whine At 9 where we discussed his fascinating career and new album.

Listen to a clip from Brazilian Nights here.

Saxophonist Kenny G’s musical success began in high school and has continued at full speed ever since. But teenager Kenneth Bruce Gorelick had no clue at the time that his high school band director’s recommendation would begin a journey that would make Kenny G one of the biggest-selling instrumental musicians of all time.

Says the artist, “I went to an inner city school in Seattle, so R&B music was something I grew up with. I was also obviously playing in my school band, so I was playing my sax. And I practiced a lot. My junior year I started practicing more and I started getting better. And people started telling me I was good, so that made me practice more because I liked them telling me I was good of course. And so, just one thing led to another. And my band director was talking to somebody that was trying to get musicians that could sit in with Barry White’s group (The Love Unlimited Orchestra) when they came in because they were missing a few people. One of them was their sax soloist and the guy says, ‘Well there’s this kid in my high school band that would probably do the job well. And so I got the gig and that’s how it started.” Kenny G still marvels at “all the little dominos that fell into place that got me into that position to play that show or those shows– I played a few shows with Barry White.”

But the artist’s perfectionism and ability to step outside of the formula has likely contributed to his enormous commercial and personal success. His 1994 holiday album Miracles, released at a time when few contemporary artists recorded Christmas or holiday music, remains one of the most successful holiday albums to date. “It was breaking with tradition,” notes Kenny G about the album. “You know, you think of holiday records, you think of Frank Sinatra. You think of Nat King Cole. You think of Johnny Mathis. But you didn’t think of, let’s say, the contemporary artists of that time– in which I was one in 1994– making a Christmas record.”

Propelled by live audiences’ positive responses to his holiday tunes and the fact that he couldn’t find one holiday album where he liked all of the music, Kenny G began working on Miracles. “So I thought I’m going to make a holiday record that’s going to be the kind that you can just put on and it’s gonna be there. And if you want to pay attention, you can hear lots of cool notes and you can hear cool chords. But if you don’t want to pay attention to it, it’s gonna sit there and create the exact atmosphere that I would have wanted at a Christmas party. And that’s how I made Miracles.”

But while he was comfortable breaking tradition, not everyone in the room agreed with him, including record label president Clive Davis. “Clive and I had a huge fight over that CD because he said it needed a vocal. And I said I wanted instrumental. And he goes, ‘No. This is a huge career mistake. And you have to trust me.’”

After what sounds rather like a ping-pong game of the wills, Davis reluctantly let the artist have his way. “They released it and then it sells–you know, gazillions of records. And later on, I went up to Clive and I said, ‘Well Clive, what do you have to say now?’ And he says, ‘Well it would have sold a lot more if you would have listened to me,” chuckles Kenny G.

His new CD Brazilian Nights, inspired by the music of Stan Getz and the old jazz players, was another labor of love for Kenny G. “I’ve listened to them all my life, but in the last 5-6 years there’s just been this one CD that’s been in my player– it’s one of the things that Stan Getz did. It wasn’t all bossa nova, but it was a lot of bossa nova. I really just liked the style of it. And I liked his CD. With Any CD there’s things I like and things I don’t like, so I always try to make one that I think is going to be perfect. So I thought, okay well, I want to make the definitive bossa nova CD.” And Brazilian Nights was born.

Does the famous saxophonist have any advice for those hoping to follow in his career footsteps? “You really have to figure out what it is that you really love to do. That’s a hard thing to do right there, because the world is cluttered and we’re always busy doing stuff.” Adds the grateful Kenny G, “I’ve been really lucky. I love playing the saxophone and the doors opened up for me. And I get to do it as my life.” And thankfully, we get to listen.

Listen to Nancy’s interview with Kenny G here, on iTunes, or Stitcher Radio.

Nancy Berk, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, author, comic and entertainment analyst. The host of the showbiz podcast Whine At 9, Nancy digs a little deeper as she chats with fascinating celebrities and industry insiders. Her book College Bound and Gagged: How to Help Your Kid Get into a Great College Without Losing Your Savings, Your Relationship, or Your Mind can be seen in the feature film Admission starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd.