Kenny G
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
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 ropical 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, ig-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.
