And sure enough, critic Ben Ratliff of The New York Times argues that “Kenny G’s music seems to want to have nothing to do with a past. This isolated, perfectionist approach to music seems thoroughly divorced from the collective, improvisatory history of jazz. “It may look like it’s sterile,” he tells Lane, as he touches his heart, “but it’s from in here.” His most recent album, “New Standards,” out in December, has taken two years to produce, in part because he uses painstaking studio edits to make sure every note is exactly right. Kenny G geeks out over practice he geeks out over production technology with a similar verve. For you, therell be no more crying, For you, the sun will be shining, And I feel that when Im with you, Its alright, I know its right. But then he says - as his whole face becomes animated with joy - “I guess for me when I hear music I think about the musicians and how much they had to practice.” When Lane asks him what he loves about music, he’s almost stumped. But he also sees practice as an ethic and even an aesthetic in and of itself. Kenny G practices saxophone to become a better musician, just as he practices golf obsessively to become a better (and award-winning) golfer. (At one point he wishes that he could practice for five.) The saxophonist still practices three hours a day, every day, alone, in his house. But Lane’s documentary leaves little doubt that Kenny G, whatever you think of his music, is in fact pursuing his own, very idiosyncratic vision.Īnd despite what critics like Metheny may assume, that vision is focused not primarily on pleasing audiences, but on Kenny G’s own process. “He did show a knack,” Metheny acidly admits, “for connecting to the basest impulses of the large crowd.”Īny massively popular pop musician is likely to be accused of pandering. Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny famously savaged Kenny G in a 2000 interview, attacking his technical competence and suggesting he was motivated by money and fame rather than respect for or love of the jazz tradition. “He makes nice music for nice people,” critic Will Layman sneers. Lane interviews a number of music critics who make the case against a Seattle Jewish plumber’s son, Kenny Gorelick, and his phenomenally successful easy listening tunes. But you’re unlikely to feel quite so smug about it. You may still not like Kenny G’s music after seeing the film. The AFP is not required for song production. Like critic Carl Wilson’s wonderful book-length appreciation of Celine Dion, the documentary makes you question not just what you love and what you hate, but who you are when you love and hate. Vocal learning in songbirds requires a basal ganglia circuit termed the anterior forebrain pathway (AFP). But it’s that anti-G identity that Penny Lane’s wonderful new documentary, “Listening to Kenny G” smoothly and politely kicks a hole through.
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