Kenny G, whose real name is Kenneth Gorelick, is an American composer but also, and above all, a saxophonist/clarinetist who can boast of having sold no less than 75 million records around the world to date, just that !
Artist who began his artistic career relatively early since he was found at the age of 17 in Barry White's famous 'Love Unlimited Orchestra'. We find him later in groups such as 'Cold, Bold & Together' as well as 'The Jeff Lorber Fusion'…
The solo career began in 1982 when he was noticed by the Arista Records label with his interpretation of…Dancing queen by Abba ! Label which allows him to release a first eponymous album the same year, album which will know a nice success of esteem.
It was the following year that his career would really take off with the release in 1983 of the album "G Force", an album which would give him his first single classified with the title "Hi, how ya doin'? a year later in 1984.
A rise in power which is confirmed in 1985 with the release of the album "Gravity", an album which will mainly produce the single "Love on the rise".
But it is above all the year 1986 that will raise him to the rank of planetary star with the release of the album "Duotones", an album that will be a hit all over the planet, in particular thanks to the title "Songbird" which will be released on following year in 1987.
Major success that exploded his rating with other artists and this is how we will find him later alongside artists like Georges Benson, Patti LaBelle and other Aretha Franklin...
New album "Silhouette" in 1988, a somewhat disappointing album in terms of success in the Charts and which will struggle to produce the slightest high-caliber hit except for the title which bears the name of the album.
A resounding return to the front of the stage from 1992 with the release of the huge album "Breathless", an album which will become the best-selling instrumental album of all time with no less than 15 million copies sold out ! Album carried at arm's length by the single "Forever in love", single which remains to this day the biggest success of the artist on the Singles side.
Another worldwide success two years later in 1994 with the album "Miracles" which will sell around 13 million copies, making it the best-selling Christmas album to date. Album which paradoxically will not be able to produce a hit worthy of the name...
The year 1996 saw the release of the album "The moment", an album which allowed him to return to the front of the stage on the Singles side with the titles "The moment" in 1996 and "Havana" in 1997.
For the anecdote, we find the artist in 1997 playing the longest note of all time on the saxophone. A unique performance that he achieved thanks to circular breathing and which will make him hold an E flat for nearly 45 minutes with the reward of a remarkable entry into the Guinness Book of Records !
Other albums will be released during the following decades but none will manage to experience a level of success like that encountered during the 90s unfortunately.
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others ...) :
80s Decade :
Here we are 1982
The shuffle 1982
G Force 1983
Hi, how ya doin’ ? 1984
Love on the rise 1985
Don't make me wait for love 1986
What does it take (To win your love) 1986
While the city sleeps 1986
Did you hear thunder 1986
Songbird 1987
Love power 1987
Why do happy memories hurt so bad 1987
For the love of you 1987
You were in my heart 1987
G-Rit 1987
Silouette 1988
Against doctor’s orders 1989
We've Saved the Best for Last 1989
Going home 1989
Still in love 1989
90s Decade :
When you cry 1990
Theme from Dying young 1991
Missing you now 1991
Forever in love 1992
Halfway to heaven 1992
By the time this night is over 1993
Sentimental 1993
Even if My Heart Would Break 1994
Have yourself à Merry little Christmas 1995
The moment 1996
Every time I close my eyes 1996
Havana 1997
My heart will go on 1997
How could an angel break my heart 1997
Loving you 1997
What a wonderful world 1999
Auld lang syne 1999
The island 1999
2000s Decade :
One more time 2002
Deck the halls 2002
I believe I can fly 2005
The way you move 2005
My favorite things 2005
Jingle bell rock 2006
You’re beautiful 2006
Mi manchi 2006
Sax-O-Loco 2008
Sabor a mi 2008
Tango 2008
2010s Decade :
Fall again 2010
Heart and soul 2010
Namaste 2012
Bossa real 2015
Use this gospel 2019
2020s Decade :
In your eyes 2020
Emeline 2021
Rendezvous 2021
A mothers lullaby 2023
Edelweiss 2023
Lullaby tres 2023
Tender lullaby 2023
Studio city lullaby 2023
Rock-a-bye baby 2023
Tracks :
1982...the very first steps. Beginnings for the less confidential and which will be visible only in the Charts Jazz. It's always better than nothing as they say...
1982 ... it must be said that the young artist decided to play it mainly without words or at least it will be that of others and not his. Bet dared to say the least...
1983... a daring bet but a bet already partly won the following year. For the big takeoff it won't be with this title but it could be done with the next one...
1984...it's THIS title that will completely change the game and propel the young artist to the front of the stage in a sensational way. A success that he shares with the singer Barry Johnson who lends him his voice on this title...
1985... who could have imagined that a simple saxophonist, as gifted as he was, was going to succeed in the incredible bet of succeeding at the highest level without singing on any title ? Well, he will succeed in this feat and in a very beautiful way...
1986...success is now global and the 'Kenny G' style is becoming a real musical phenomenon. Who would have thought that possible ? Not many people, that's for sure...
1986...it must be said that he knows how to surround himself particularly well. After Kashif in 1985 and Lenny Williams in 1986, it's Ellis Hall's turn to lend him his voice on this new track. And again it works perfectly...
1986...a fame that spreads more and more since some big names in the song now ask him to participate in some of their titles. This will be the case for George Benson on this title...
1986... the 'Kenny G sound' interests more and more people and becomes a real reference in the matter on the sax side. It's just recognition...
1987... he will sign here what will surely remain as one of his biggest titles. In just a few years the artist has literally become essential and it's going to last like that for a few more years. Even a few decades !
1987...they all want him now ! The artist will multiply collaborations at the end of the 80s and not just small ones, that's clear !
1987...we find him this time alongside Smokey Robinson on a title full of finesse and lightness. Certainly, most of his collaborations will not be on titles with resounding success but all the same...
1987...we find him next to most of the big sizes of the moment. It must be said that the sax and the clarinet are really among the most emblematic instruments of this decade and that having them as instruments on a title is necessarily a plus...
1987...after Whitney Houston, it was Jude Cole's turn to call on his services. And as very often we call on him on titles that literally float in the air. It must be said that his magic instruments lend themselves particularly well...
1987...he also associates with other musicians. We thus find him alongside Lee Ritenour on a title this time a little more punchy than the average but which works very well too...
1988...there are stories with words and stories without. And even without words he still manages to classify his titles at the highest level, which further underlines the prowess...
1989...he really made his instruments a major asset like rarely other artists before him during the 80s. We had to dare that, that's for sure !
1989...we find him again alongside Smokey Robinson, an association that works perfectly, it is clear. We definitely want more !
1989...he now alternates purely instrumental titles and titles with lyrics according to his desires and especially the various requests he makes. We take everything, whether there are words or not !
1989...new prestigious collaboration this time with Patti LaBelle. Sometimes we will hear him very little on the titles where he intervenes but he is definitely there, that's for sure !
1990... the kind of collaboration and above all titles that suit him perfectly. His instrument can give the best of itself in these cases and it shows, especially it can be heard !
1991...he will even do in the soundtrack, the opposite would have been surprising, you might say. We find him on the soundtrack of the film 'Dying young', a soundtrack that he sublimates once again thanks to his magic instrument...
1991...new shock association this time with Michael Bolton. An association that will work perfectly and make this title a real success necessarily...
1992... the artist will reach the culmination of his career with this title. Nearly 10 years after his debut, the artist is at the height of his art and everything unrolls with an ease that is, to say the least, bluffing. HU-GE !
1992...the number of prestigious collaborations increases from year to year. We find him alongside Celine Dion at the start of the 90s and once again it works !
1993... it's Peabo Bryson who we find at his side on this title and their association will inevitably produce sparks. The duo works perfectly and will make this title a real success !
1993...as often since its beginnings, we go from vocal to instrumental. This title will experience less success than its predecessor but does not affect the intra-sec quality of the title...
1994...he will share the poster with Aaron Neville on this title and one could have imagined that this new duo would also sparkle. Hope somewhat disappointed despite a title that is far from deserving...
1995...he was certain that we were going to find him at one time or another on special Christmas music. It's now done but it won't bring him more than that, at least on the Singles side. On the other hand, the album that bears the title will become, him, one of the best-selling Christmas albums in the world, just that !
1996...after a few years of slight deceleration on the Charts side, business resumed with this title. There was therefore no reason to worry at this stage about his state of form...and above all inspiration !
1996...Babyface, Mariah Carey, some 3 Stars casting as they say. Who says casting 3 Stars says success accordingly in the Charts !
1997... solo return on this title. Here he is in ultra Dance mode, something extremely rare concerning him. And my faith, on this one, it works too !
1997...he couldn't escape the 'Titanic' tidal wave that literally submerged the planet that year. A nice personal version but which cannot necessarily equal the sung versions...
1997 ... we find him alongside Toni Braxton in this year 1997 all on a title full of lightness and finesse as he likes them. A new duo with more than certain success !
1997...the great adventure continues with great successes like the previous one and more discreet ones like this one. It must be said that most of his major successes will have been made with other...
1999...revisiting Louis Armstrong's cult 'What a wonderful world' from 1967 is a risky gamble, to say the least. But as we are very very close to the original version, no bad - or good - surprise in the end...
1999...decidedly he decided to revisit ultra classics at the end of the 90s. This time, he tackled the famous 'Auld lang syne', a title of Scottish folklore dating from the end of the 18th century. A modernized version for the less original this time...
1999...we find him alongside Barbra Streisand to close in the best possible way a decade that will have consecrated him as one of the most talented musicians of his generation. A just reward...
2002...a new duo of shock and charm, this time with Chanté Moore. A successful duo once again but which will only experience a level of success that is all in all limited, paradoxically...
2002...already 20 years of presence at the highest level. A great career that lasts forever and again but which may have reached its peak and which therefore risks decelerating inexorably in future years...
2005...we're not going to lie to each other, the best years are now behind him. The saxophone and the clarinet went out of fashion a long time ago and the younger generations are not that interested in this kind of instrument. Rightly or wrongly, that's something else...
2005... the artist still manages to maintain a minimum level of success and therefore preserves the essentials. For how much longer...?
2005...a big year 2005 with a plethora of titles and quality at all levels. Like what, the artist still has every reason to believe in it and to continue the adventure happily...
2006...here he revisits an ultra classic which we were surprised he hadn't done yet. It's now done, so we can move on...
2006...here he is revisiting here James Blunt's flagship title dating from 2004. A nice instrumental version but which will have a hard time competing with the original, that's for sure...
2006...we now find him alongside Andrea Bocelli on a title that literally floats in the air. A title full of finesse and lightness that allows the 2 artists to show the best of themselves in their respective register...
2008...we hadn't yet had the right to Latin American rhythms and it's now done with this title. Through the decades, he will have tried almost everything on the rhythm side and this one was necessarily missing from the list...
2008...the artist will no longer produce major titles in future years, but what he continues to offer largely holds up. We'll be happy with it anyway...
2008... we are now in the purely instrumental and the era of great duets with singers is almost over. Such is life as they say...
2010... suddenly he thinks it might be good to put the cover back on this level and here he is accompanied here by Robin Thicke. An association that works very well...
2010...even though he has disappeared from most mainstream charts now, he continues to appear on the Jazz Charts. It's always better than nothing...
2012...by teaming up with Rahul Sharma for a title, it is the Indian continent that he honors through this title. Astonishing mix of sounds...
2015...the production of titles weakens from year to year and we feel that the artist has more and more difficulty in renewing himself. You still have to remember that he started his career in 1982, which is not nothing...
2019...it's the younger generation who will put him back on track. We feared for the rest of the events concerning him and here he is, once again managing to bounce back in a spectacular way. With him, you have to know that nothing is ever finished !
2020...and it goes on and on at the start of the 2020 decade. We now find him alongside the most talented of the new generation, who would have thought ?! To be continued...
2021...back in pure instrumental jazzy mode. He continues to alternate with a certain mastery old and new influences, a permanent exercise in style that allows him to be there again and again !
2021 ... so we can easily imagine that this title is not likely to be the last. It is certain that we will find him later, it remains to be seen in which register he will dare to venture next time...
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Top Bonus : when 2 gifted people come together for a title, the result is bound to match the 2 talents combined !
Wiki :
Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :