KENNY G LIVE AT THE STATE THEATRE NEW JERSEY
By Mia Palazzo
When I first began listening to Kenny G I was very young. No one my age has ever really known who he is beyond a character in South Park but I find joy in telling my older peers about my love for him. I first saw him at his Christmas show last year in Connecticut and while I am not typically the type for music without words at live shows, this one absolutely enticed me.
Later on, I got the chance to meet Kenny G at a Barnes and Noble book signing for his newest book, Life In The Key Of G, where he said to me, “There’s so much hair between the two of us” and essentially made my life.
Anywho, given all that of course it only made sense to drive three hours to New Jersey to photograph Kenny G. I have to start this entire review by saying that he has the nicest team of almost any artist I have met. Along with this, everyone at the theatre was so delightful and very helpful throughout the night!
Now, while everyone was beginning to take their seats, Kenny G came out on stage to announce the show would be beginning late. It also gave him the chance to announce a raffle people could sign up for.
Once this was set and the majority of people were seated, he took not to the stage but to a box placed a few rows down into the audience, and began the set with “Loving You” and “Silhouette” before making his way to the stage where he remained for the duration of the show.
Seeing Kenny G around winter time is lovely because he plays a refreshing combination of his own music, mixed with covers and winter classics. During this set he played “Winter Wonderland”, “Havana”, “Forever In Love”, and “Desafinado”, all seemingly fan favorites.
“Desafinado”, a Antônio Carlos Jobim cover is, as Kenny G describes it, a very traditional jazz song. Many members of the band grew up playing at jazz clubs. This song is one that has structure, but the band improvises most of the song so it’s never the same from night to night.
Breaks in the set were filled with both Kenny G’s playful saxy banter and solos from his band which consists of Kenny G, 2 Robert Damper on piano/keys, Daniel Bejarano on drums, lifelong bandmate John Raymond on guitar, Vali Johnson on bass and percussionist Ron Powell.
The stand out songs of the set to me were of course his last three. The song “Cadenza” displays Kenny G’s rather outstanding techniques and stamina, it’s a song that always leaves the audience astonished. The last two songs, “Songbird”, a Kenny G classic and “My Heart Will Go On”, by James Horner always just seem to create the most beautiful end to the night.
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