Saxophone man
He breezes out of the Hilton lobby, curls in the breeze, entourage and security personnel following. Kenny G has sold 75 million albums worldwide, set world records and worked with the likes of Toni Braxton, Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, Frank Sinatra and Aretha Franklin, but when he gets to the limo waiting outside, he packs his bags into the back himself. Despite over 30 years of being one of the best known musicians in the world, this man is known for his humility.
Doing it in his own humble way: Kenny G wows his audience at the Nelum Pokuna . Pix by Indika Handuwala
Quite like the musician, the Soprano saxophone Kenny’s been playing for the last 40-plus years from his early days in his hometown of Seattle, Washington, doesn’t glitter or sparkle like one expects it would. It’s obviously old, well played, and happy. The owner wears a few wrinkles on his face, he’s 58 after all, but smiles like a five-year-old when he’s done playing.
Over the last three decades, Kenny G’s smooth jazz, funk and adult pop sound has become the sound of many a dinner party, public place and living room. He has multiple albums under the Arista and Concord labels, of which “G-Force,” “Gravity” and “Duotones” went multi-platinum. His sixth studio album “Breathless” became the best-selling instrumental album ever, while his Christmas album “Miracles” sold over 13 million copies, making it the most successful Christmas album. In 1997 Kenny set the Guinness world record for playing the longest note ever recorded on a saxophone – 45 minutes and 47 seconds using cyclic breathing.
Kenny G and his band played for the first time in Sri Lanka at Nelum Pokuna on Saturday, November 15, their show presented by Fairway Holdings. Colombo audiences – even if they’ve paid Rs.20,000 for the conference-hall-like seats at Nelum Pokuna to see probably the biggest musical act that has ever set foot on a Sri Lankan stage – can be notoriously dull. But from the word 
“go,” Kenny G and his band had the crowd sitting up in their seats, bobbing their heads and cheering and whooping even in the middle of numbers.
The excitement only rose as band members started soloing. Keyboardist Robert Damper, guitarist John Raymond, drummer Daniel Bejarano and bassist Vail Johnson each had their chance to show off and give their audience a taste of the kind of musicianship rarely seen on a Sri Lankan stage, but when percussionist Ron Powell took his turn in the spotlight, things went to a different level. Not only did he completely steal the moment, but he got the crowd going as well, putting Johnson on percussion for a few minutes while he did crazy things with just a tambourine.
Kenny G’s concerts include orchestra shows in the US, as well as performances across the globe with his band, whom he’s been playing with for the last twenty years. Keyboardist Damper, he’s in fact known since high school – more than 40 years! The fact that they have been playing together for this long is obvious in how comfortable they are with each other on stage, and how well they gel musically.
Kenny himself did a routine demonstration of the cyclic breathing he is famous for, holding the same note for three minutes. While he held the note, he walked around the audience, shaking hands. With his band and just their instruments, he kept the 1,200 plus strong audience going for two good hours, with hardly a break in the middle. One of the very few times that he did actually stop to talk, the man who had spent less than 24 hours on the island addressed his audience in not a just a few words but four or five clear sentences of Sinhala.He played, watching his audience, wooing them as he danced to the tune of his own music. Here was an entertainer.
“It’s definitely not about the critics,” he said at a pre-show press conference, “but it’s not about the audience either. If you get compliments from the critics, that’s great. If you get them from the audience also, that’s great. But it’s mainly about being able to express myself. If [the music] sounds on the outside how it sounds on the inside, then I’ve succeeded.”
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But Kenny G is definitely not only about showbiz, a hyped-up audience and the indulgent habits of a more-than-well established musician. At one point during the programme, the lead guitarist and bassist were seated beneath the drum kit accompanying Damper as he solo-keyed on one of the numbers. Kenny stood beside the piano, watching, listening, creating some dialogue with his saxophone. The whole exchange played out very like a chilled-out jam session someone decided to host in their college dorm room, giving those who wanted to see, a glimpse of their twenty-something years of playing and growing together as musicians.
Kenny says he still practises three hours a day and takes his best shot at anything he puts his hand to. This becomes evident when he starts talking of his non-musical ventures. Around the same time that he started playing the saxophone, his brother Brian also introduced Kenny to golf. Today, he is an avid golfer and businessman who also skis, flies an aircraft and works out regularly.
“I get pleasure from being good at something,” he shrugs. “This is not always great, but that’s just how I’m wired.”
Whether great for him or not, it definitely must be for his two sons. The musician and his entourage landed at Katunayake Airport at 3.30 a.m. on Saturday, the day of his show. Why? Because Kenny wants to spend as much time as possible with his boys. “When I’m home (he lives in California), I just cook for them all the time,” he shrugs. But the older has just graduated and the younger will leave for college soon. “So they’ll be gone now, what will I do with all that time?” he ponders, seemingly a bit shaken, but comes up with a plan. “Maybe travel, figure it out. Next time I play in Sri Lanka I will come three days early and look around!”
In the typical openness of a city-wise American, Kenny G cracks jokes about his attempts at marriage in a room full of people he has never met before. Decades of travelling around the globe, engaging with different cultures and peoples have made him unafraid of baring his soul. There is no trouble in knowing the man. No wonder his music speaks to the globe.