Agni (sharmishtha basu) Talks about Movie and Music 22.1.18 Kenny G

Kenny G was born Kenneth Bruce Gorelick on June 5, 1956, in Seattle, Washington. The son of Jewish parents, Kenny G grew up in Seattle’s Seward Park neighborhood, the center of the city’s Jewish community.

In 1973, at just 17 years old, Kenny G was hired by Barry White to play with his Love Unlimited Orchestra at the Paramount Northwest Theater in Seattle. The gig with White and his band was the first of several for the saxophonist, and it was around this time that he changed his name to Kenny G.

Following his graduation from Franklin High School, Kenny G followed two different career tracks: He enrolled at the University of Washington to study accounting, while also continuing to pursue a career in music. In addition to playing with White, Kenny G recorded with the Seattle funk band Cold, Bold & Together. Later, he hooked up with Jeff Lorber Fusion, recording an album with the group and playing with them on tour.

Kenny G released his debut album in 1982, and rose to international fame following the 1986 release of Duotones. Later albums, including Breathless and Miracles, helped make him one of the top-selling artists of all time. Kenny G also won a Grammy Award in 1994, and at one point held the world record for the longest sustained note on a sax. He is the top-selling instrumental musician of the modern era.

Kenny G set a Guinness World Record in 1997 for playing the longest note ever recorded on a saxophone. At a performance at J&R Music World in New York City, he employed a method called circular breathing to hold an E-flat for 45 minutes and 47 seconds. Although his mark was surpassed in 2000 by Vann Burchfield, Kenny G was hopeful of reclaiming the record.

In addition to his music career, Kenny G is a passionate golfer. In 2006, Golf Digest named him the music industry’s No. 1 golfer.

Following 20 years of marriage to Lyndie Benson-Gorelick, with whom he had sons Max and Noah, Kenny G filed for divorce in 2012. Seemingly set to follow his dad into the music industry, Max has earned acclaim for his guitar skills.

Despite his mammoth sales numbers, Kenny G’s easy sound has made him the target of critics, especially jazz purists, who dismiss the saxophonist for what they consider his lightweight, pop-driven sound.

While shrugging off the critics, Kenny G has also made efforts to take on different kinds of musical forms. The saxophonist has recorded albums that have displayed his appreciation for jazz standards (Classics in the Key of G, 1999), tropical sounds (Paradise, 2002), and Latin beats (Rhythm and Romance, 2008). In 2010 he delivered the R&B–driven album Heart and Soul, with contributions from Robin Thicke and Babyface, and in 2015 he returned to Latin inspirations for Brazilian Nights.

This concludes what I collected from biography.com, the source of the actual article.

Now, why did I select him for spotlight this month? He is awesome! I am grateful to the boy who listened to him in one of the offices I worked in, he just loved Kenny G and later I could download a few songs by this super fantastic artist, and now, he is one of my favorite instrumentalists too, you will get a lot of his music on internet, don’t worry! They I believe all have one thing in common- they are all awesome!

Enjoy and don’t forget to tell me!

Source: Biography.com

===============================================

I will be posting pieces from Agnishatdal and Agnijaat here, if you like them and check out the Ezines you can now buy them from two spots:

1. directly from paypal (each issue costs $1

https://paypal.me/sharmishthabasu

2. Indirectly from my patreon profile:

https://patreon.com/sharmishthabasu

Few talks about some favorite stars, irrespective of their field of music, art.

They are collected from various sites or are just my view of them. You will know

the difference when you read the post, most are from wikipedia.

These are from the fun section of the Ezines.

I dont know, being me I may have missed mentioning it, do remember one thing,

as you read these works, some of these are my personal views and whatever data,

you see in these are collected from various sites of internet, mostly

wikipedia, famouspeople.net and quite often from the sites of the artists

themselves.

You know I dont know everything right? I am just a student who is sharing her

notes with you!

====================================