KENNY G - TITANIC ( MY HEART WILL GO ON )

TITANIC (MY HEART WILL GO ON)

KENNY G. (INSTRUMENTAL)

SONGWRITER: JAMES HORNER & WILL JENNINGS

COUNTRY: U. S. A.

ALBUM: GREATESTY HITS KENNY G.

LABEL: ARISTA RECORDS

GENRE: JAZZ

YEAR: 1997

 

         Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956), known professionally as Kenny G, is an American jazz saxophonist. His 1986 album, Duotones, brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the best-selling artists of all time, with global sales totaling more than 75 million records.

             Kenny G was born in Seattle, Washington. His mother was from Saskatchewan, Canada. He came into contact with the saxophone when he heard a performance on The Ed Sullivan Show. He started playing saxophone, a Buffet Crampon alto, in 1966 when he was 10 years old.

         Kenny G attended Whitworth Elementary School, Sharples Junior High School, Franklin High School, and the University of Washington, all in his home city of Seattle. When he entered high school he failed at his first attempt to get into the jazz band but auditioned again the following year and earned first chair. His Franklin High School classmate Robert Damper (piano, keyboards) plays in his band. In addition to his studies while in high school, he took private lessons on the saxophone and clarinet from Johnny Jessen, once a week for a year.

               He was also on his high school golf team. He has been a fan of the sport since his elder brother, Brian Gorelick, introduced him to it when he was ten.

Kenny G has attracted significant criticism from mainstream jazz musicians and enthusiasts. Pat Metheny stated he was a "pop" saxophonist "but was not really an advanced player, even in that style", adding that he had "major rhythmic problems" and his "harmonic and melodic vocabulary was extremely limited, mostly to pentatonic based and blues-lick derived patterns". Metheny believes the main reason Kenny G has become unpopular is "he sells an enormous amount of records while not being anywhere near a really great player in relation to the standards that have been set on his instrument over the past sixty or seventy years". Branford Marsalis once stated in an interview with Jazziz magazine: "When all these jazz guys get in a tizzy over Kenny G, they need to leave Kenny alone. He's not stealing jazz. The audience he has wouldn't be caught dead at a real jazz concert or club. It's not like some guy says, 'You know, I used to listen to Miles, Trane and Ornette. And then I heard Kenny G, and I never put on another Miles record.' It's a completely different audience".

            Kenny G's 1999 single "What a Wonderful World" was criticized for its overdubbing of Louis Armstrong's recording. The primary criticism is that a recording by Armstrong, known especially for improvisation, should not be altered by a musician whose range and depth of understanding was already in question. Some columnists suggested Kenny G's recording exposed more fans to real jazz, but the response to his recording tended to be negative.