oregonpapa, good for you for having the courage to not get on the “beat up on Kenny G” wagon. I like good perspective. As we all know he has been a punching bag for a long time, for many claiming the Jazz higher ground. It gets tiresome. His recorded output is mostly drivel and that soprano sound......😱; almost as weird as his hair. He is not what can be considered a good Jazz player, no Coltrane, Stitt or many many unknown players out there, but as you say he actually does have some talent. I’ve heard it. He has found a commercial niche and he’s laughing all the way to the bank. His choice, and I don’t see the point in condemning him for it.
Point is, some feel that musicians have a “responsibility” to some predetermined artistic standard and that record companies have a “responsibility” to elevate listeners’ appreciation. I disagree. It is up to the listener to learn to be better listeners, become more discerning and learn to separate the wheat from the chaff. It is a cop out the other way. I wonder just how many people out there never even knew what a soprano saxophone was before hearing Kenny G. Of those, I have to believe at least a handful now have Trane’s “My Favorite Things” in their collections. Always important to consider the alternative.
Yes, it is always about the music first.
