Reviews - Smooth sounds of Kenny G fill stadium
Written by Liz Navratil

The sun set on Clipper Magazine Stadium Thursday night and a pianist played a melody that was met with applause.

Next came the unmistakable sound of Kenny G.

But it took the crowd of about 3,000 a few minutes to find the saxophone player, who has sold more than 75 million albums worldwide.

The 52-year-old instrumentalist, sporting a white Barnstormers jersey and black dress pants, made his way through the aisles of the visitors' side of the stadium and onto the dugout, where he began playing a note he would hold for close to eight minutes.

(To do that, he employs a technique called circular breathing. He inhales and exhales simultaneously.)

The audience exploded into applause.

That's all fine, but Kenny doesn't use the audience's reaction to evaluate his concerts.

Nor does he judge the concerts on his own performance. It's about how the band, as a whole, works together.

Were they listening to each other? Did they pay attention to detail?

"I've come to understand the nuances of this," he said in an interview prior to the concert. "There's more to music that just playing the tune. We're very good at that."

Because his music is almost entirely instrumental - the only vocals in his concert were occasional one-word interjections and the words from a Louis Armstrong video track that ran while Kenny played "What a Wonderful World" - those nuances are his tool for conveying emotion.

"As a musician you can play really fast. I can play really slow," Kenny said. "I can play high. I can play low. I can't talk about love, but I can do those things."

The audience doesn't seem to have any trouble understanding his message.

Kenny closed his concert with "Songbird," the piece he credits with launching his career.

"Songbird, that's just a romantic song that reflects on love," said Tammy Heagy of Gap. "It was excellent. Tell him to come back."

Kenny's concert featured many of his older hits, songs like "Sentimental" and "G-Bop."

Kenny said he focuses on his older music because, "I don't like it when artists try to shove the new music down your throat."

Instead, he settled for playing only a handful of the songs from his new, Latin CD, "Rhythm and Romance."

Many of Kenny's Latin songs were more upbeat than the others.

Audience members began clapping along to the beat of "Havana," one of Kenny's older Latin songs. Several people swayed in their seats and one couple began salsa dancing.

Kenny said his concerts are always more lively than his recordings. He adds more notes to his music during live performances, because it's visually entertaining.

He said he prefers for his albums to be "thematic."

"When I make a CD I have to be able to - well, I don't really listen to my own music, but I have to be able to think I can listen to it again," Kenny said.

Kenny added that the concert atmosphere allows him to showcase the other members of his band.

"I hope they (the audience) see how good the guys in my band are," he said before the event. "I hope they walk away not just hearing songs they like but seeing how great these guys are."

The five-piece band impressed numerous fans, many of whom left with smiles on their faces.

Mindi Duke of Columbia said she's a jazz fan, but that she doesn't normally listen to anyone in particular.

That might change.

Duke called Kenny's performance "great" and "comfortable." She added that it gave her "a new respect for Kenny G."

Reviews - Saxophonist proves smooth, satisfying
Written by By Margaret Quamme

FOR THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Jazz-pop saxophonist Kenny G and country-rocker Keith Urban wouldn't seem to have much in common, but there's this: They both break through the ultra-smooth sound of their albums to come alive in concert.

Kenny G's concert last night at the Palace Theatre was not without its glitches, but his playing wasn't one of them. The saxophonist ran through more than two hours with barely a pause for breath.

If he has a flaw, it's that he's terminally eager to please: He apologized profusely for daring to introduce a few short pieces from his new Latin-flavored album, Rhythm & Romance, and diverting attention temporarily from the numbers his audience has come to expect.
But there are worse things than being pleasant, and Kenny G's smoothly satisfying playing suited a summer night. The long set was nicely varied in tempo if not particularly innovative.

The sax player and other musicians did a brisk, clever cover of You're Beautiful and a lively version of Pick Up the Pieces, as well as a more predictable and unadorned Songbird, a silky Silhouette, a warm and leisurely Sentimental and a mellow Havana. Kenny G seemed relaxed and confident throughout, and his playing was a pleasure to hear.

It helps that he is part of a tight band that has been together for decades, and that he doesn't lord it over the others. Bassist Vail Johnson got to play an astonishing solo, and percussionist Ron Powell earned a standing ovation with his display of virtuosity with the many toys at his disposal.

Stadium-style theatrics were kept to a minimum, with a video screen wisely used almost entirely to show close-ups of the musicians at play or to provide song titles and commentary.

Though well-paced at the beginning, the concert sagged toward the end, as the musicians marked time as late-deciders bought raffle tickets for a sax Kenny G had designed and is marketing. A rendition of White Christmas smacked of dead-air desperation. But the wait proved worthwhile, as the sax player serenaded the clearly moved winning couple, who were celebrating their anniversary.

Reviews - Kenny G dazzles as always
Written by the Lancaster Gazette

Describing how good a Kenny G concert was is like telling someone how great Elvis was during his television debut on Johnny Carson. You already know it was good.

No, I won't go on about Kenny G's genius saxophone riffs witnessed by the packed audience at the Palace Theatre last night. Nor will I dote about the intricacies of his finger work, especially on the signature "Cadenza."

I will however say that Kenny G showed,
though he may no longer be under the watchful eye of pop culture, he's still got it; evidenced by the reaction of last night's crowd, which treated the G-man with rock star status, screaming and swaying in the aisles.

The Seattle prodigy held the crowd in the palm of his hand, his giddy personality dominated the night, setting the tone for an intimate, fun-filled affair. His witty banter with his band and the constant serenading throughout the aisles, even including the balcony, kept the audience engaged the entire 2 1/2 hours he commanded the stage.

Mr. Gorelick and his extraordinary five-man band, most of which he said has followed him throughout his more than 20-year career, flowed through more than a dozen of his hits including "Silhouette,""What A Wonderful World" (which featured Louis Armstrong on the large LCD screen singing behind him), his signature Latin hit "Havana" and "Forever in Love."

He also featured a taste of his latest album, "Rhythm & Romance," his first all Latin album and first full CD of original music since 2002.

The show ended with Kenny raffling off a black soprano saxophone, which he himself engineered. The lucky couple, who happened to be celebrating their anniversary, joined the saxophonist on stage for a special serenade with the instrument, before he closed the show with a brilliant showcase of his classic, "Songbird."

The Kenny G concert was nothing short of fantastic, proving Gorelick still has the star power and those chiseled chops to keep him a relevant pop icon well into the future.