小简介
美国首席演奏音乐巨星肯尼吉自1987年以萨克斯风演奏曲"Songbird"勇夺排行榜第4名的佳绩后，带动了乐坛的萨克斯风流行风潮，不仅法兰克辛纳屈、艾瑞莎富兰克林、席琳狄翁、惠妮休斯顿、唐妮布蕾斯顿等巨星都争相邀请肯尼吉跨刀演奏，就连美国总统柯林顿都公开称赞肯尼吉的萨克斯风才情。肯尼吉的乐声，凝聚了爵士乐的摩登情调，以及流行乐的迷人气息，为现代都会提供了绝佳的休闲情趣，20年来，他以全球超过7000万张的专辑销售，高居演奏乐界的冠军龙头地位，同时也挤身当代乐坛最受欢迎的流行乐手。
by Scott Yanow
Kenny G has long been the musician many jazz listeners love to hate. A phenomenally successful instrumentalist whose recordings make the pop charts, Kenny Gs sound has been a staple on adult contemporary and smooth jazz radio stations since the mid-80s, making him a household name. Kenny G is 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 contemporary jazz charts and is identified with jazz in the minds of the mass public, he is classified as jazz.
Kenny Gorelick started playing professionally with Barry Whites Love Unlimited Orchestra 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 with Jeff Lorber Fusion, making two albums with the group. Soon he was signed to Arista, recording his debut as a leader in 1982. His fourth album, Duotones (which included the very popular Songbird), made him into a star. Soon he was in demand for guest appearances on recordings of such famous singers as Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, and Natalie Cole. Kenny Gs 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. 1994s holiday album Miracles and 1996s Moment continued the momentum of his massive commercial success. He also recorded his own version of the Celine Dion/Titanic smash My Heart Will Go On in 1998, but the following year he released Classics in the Key of G, a collection of jazz standards like Round Midnight and Body & Soul, possibly to reclaim some jazz credibility.
Faith: A Holiday Album was released that same year, followed up by a limited edition re-release of the 1997 Greatest Hits disc. 2002 found Kenny G dipping into tropical territory with Paradise, which featured guest appearances by Brian McKnight and Chanté Moore. This was followed by a music video collection, another holiday album, entitled Wishes, and, in 2003, a second greatest-hits collection, Ultimate Kenny G. Perhaps in a bid to shake up his discography a bit, in 2004 Kenny G released At Last...The Duets Album, which featured duets with LeAnn Rimes and Chaka Khan. Two years later, smooth jazzs king of the soprano sax returned to a purely instrumental approach on the brassy, big-band-inspired albums Holiday Collection and Im in the Mood for Love. 2006 was also the year the artist was dubbed the best golfer in music by Golf Digest, beating out Vince Gill for the number one spot.
