Kenny G Steps Back Into the Spotlight

By PopEater Staff Posted Oct 26th 2009 06:30PM

Though he's kept a low profile over the past few years, Kenny G has been busy, quietly releasing albums like 2008's Latin-tinged 'Rhythm and Romance.' But rather than stick solely to his trademark smooth jazz sound, he surprised fans recently by collaborating with alterna-rockers Weezer.

For their recent Sessions taping at AOL's West Coast studio, Weezer asked the saxophonist to contribute a solo for their catchy song 'I'm Your Daddy,' from their latest album, 'Raditude.' Prior to the taping, the jazz man had never met the quirky California band. "I got an e-mail from my manager," Kenny G said of the odd pairing. "I don't know anything about Weezer -- nothing. I've heard the name, but I never knew any of their songs [except] some song about a sweater," he added, referring to their 1994 hit, 'Undone -- The Sweater Song.'

Watch Weezer's 'Undone - The Sweater Song' Video

His lack of familiarity shouldn't offend the band, as Kenny G is the first to admit he lives "in the closet, pretty much" when it comes to new music. "I practice three hours a day, and when I'm done practicing I don't think about music again," he said. "I'm off doing other things." During a break from the Sessions taping, he even invited Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo and his wife, who coincidentally live down the street from him in Malibu, Calif., on a surfing excursion. "I do lots of things. I'm not just a musician."

While some fans could be thrown by this unlikely partnership, Kenny G isn't looking to broaden his audience. For starters, he said he will never do a pop covers album, calling the idea "meaningless" to younger audiences. "They want words," he said. "I'm not trying to sell to a certain demographic. I just do what I think is right for me at the time. Whoever hears it, if they like it, they buy it. I've been lucky so far because a lot of people seem to like what I do."

Kenny G is currently at work with longtime producer Walter Afanasieff on an as-yet-untitled album. The saxophonist is looking to take the half-finished work in an R&B direction and is meeting with acclaimed producer Babyface this week to work on a new song. "I want more rhythm in my music," Kenny G said. "I want my album to have a bit more tempo. Otherwise, I'm going to be lost in the huge smooth jazz array of saxophone players. Half of them don't even need to be making records."

Tags: kenny g, KennyG, weezer

Comments

(61)

Tuesday 27 October

By Marc

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Lizard...and I know singers who sing better than Madonna and Michael Jackson. This doesn't take away the fact that they are great entertainers. Part of the 'biz' is marketing yourself to the masses. If your so called high school buddies are so great, then we want to hear them. If they aren't out there, then we really don't know how good they are do we? Like lightening in the desert man. Kenny G. has some entertaining pieces in my opinion. I don't know how he is 'live', but I enjoy the sax and my 'tone' deaf ears (lol) personally like listening to it.

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