Postponed Until Nov. 28 – Kenny G – A Man & His Sax

 

 

Like most solo artists, Kenny G is the master of his domain. He manages the lion’s share of all of the writing and recording responsibilities, but on stage he looks to his band of 25 years as his trusty wingmen.

“My music that I wanted to do, I had to do on my own. I wanted to create my own music and write it and record it so it’s hard to that when you’re underneath someone else’s domain,” says Kenny. “My band is amazing. We’re a really good team. My percussionist puts on a fantastic solo. In fact, everyone puts on a great solo. I think people will get more out of our show than just hearing saxophone ballads.”

“We play the songs based on how they feel to us live. The audience is part of the whole dynamic to the evening.”

The infamous Kenny G performs November 28 at The Florida Theatre (www.floridatheatre.org). He promises a night of familiar favorites and a scorching live show. “We’re going to play mostly songs form our older records. We’ll play a few from our latest record but not much. I’m very sensitive to audiences and I know from being a person who goes to concerts, I don’t necessarily want to hear a bunch of new stuff. I want to hear things that I know. I do that for the people that come to our shows so they don’t have to worry about somebody trying to sell their new record to them. We play the songs based on how they feel to us live. The audience is part of the whole dynamic to the evening.”

Keyboardist Robert Damper has been Kenny’s wingman since their high school days. “He’s a great guy. He’s finally got his own CD out that he’s been working on for 20 years. I will be proud to put that out on my merchandise stand and hopefully people will by his CD as well. I’m real proud of him and happy that we have such a history together.”

Long before he was a successful artist, Kenny discovered his love of the saxophone, earning his stripes in the school band. He didn’t make it during his first audition but he remained committed and earned his place during his second round of auditions.

“It’s definitely challenging but you have to have those challenges or otherwise everything is too easy. Music was invaluable. It’s white and black. If it wasn’t there, I wouldn’t be a musician. It’s not like I had it going on at home and I didn’t care about anything else, it was because of school and being introduced to an instrument. Playing in the junior high school band and the high school band and the college band, that’s the reason I’m here,” he says.

“If you are lucky enough to have music in your school, that’s great. Just know that it takes time to get good on an instrument.”

“If you are lucky enough to have music in your school, that’s great. Just know that it takes time to get good on an instrument. Unless you’re some kind of phenom, I’ve never seen somebody at 9 play the sax like somebody that’s 25. When you hit a piano key, it sounds like a piano whether you’re 5 or 50. A C sounds like a C. When you’re playing a wind instrument that requires skill and technique to get a tone, it takes a long time. It doesn’t sound good. I didn’t sound good when I first started playing the sax. You just have to take your time and just don’t get discouraged.”

Playing the saxophone has earned Kenny G multiple Grammy nominations and the American Music Association Award for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist. It’s afforded him with the opportunities travel the world on his own terms. “I don’t know if people know I’m a pilot and I’ve got a plane of my own. I don’t have a jet. I’m not that type of guy. But I’ve got a little sea plane that lands on the water. Every summer, I fly that little plane from Los Angeles to the East Coast. It takes me four days. It’s just me and the airplane, like a road trip across the country. I land and spend the night wherever the winds and the weather and my stamina will let me and I just carve a new route across the U.S. every year,” he says.

“This year, one of my stops was Ann Arbor, Michigan. And I land at this airport and I pulled up where you park the planes and no one was there. So I called the number and the guy answered that owned the place. And I said ‘listen there’s no one here. I’d like to be able to get to a hotel or whatever’. He said ‘my red pickup is right in the front. The keys are in the dash. Just bring it back in the morning’. Which I did. I had this big ass super monster truck, like a muscle car, and from there I drove to the Holiday Inn Express. Nobody was really at the airport when I returned the truck either. It’s just the way it goes.”

Whether on stage or in the sky, Kenny G continues to spread his wings. He hopes to one day score a film and record a classical record, maybe a collection of jazz ballads; whatever it takes to grow and become a better saxophone player. “If you ask me the same question next year,” he says. “I’ll have a whole different list of things I’d like to do.”