Kenneth Gorelick—best known to the world as Kenny G—did not invent new age music or smooth jazz. He was, however, the best-known face for the genre, and as such has taken most of the slings and arrows hurled against it (and, in turn, against him).
I’m not going to lie: I’m not the biggest fan in the world of new age music, having grown up with it being played constantly by my mother on WNUA-FM in Chicago. But, perhaps leopards could indeed change their spots—and that’s how I approached reviewing Gorelick’s self-titled debut album—with an open mind. (One can, however, understand why the cover art changed over the years; the original 1982 cover almost looks like Slim Goodbody playing saxophone.)
If one is completely honest, you initially realize that this style of music was being played long before Gorelick’s debut effort. Al Jarreau certainly was creating vocal versions of light jazz, especially with the song “Mornin’.” George Benson might have danced on the fringes of it, being more of a straight jazz artist dipping his toes into popular music. And let’s not forget the chart success Chuck Mangione had in the ’70s with Feels So Good. So, Gorelick really doesn’t deserve all of the hatred some of us –and I freely admit I’m in that group—have dumped on him over the decades.
But the nine songs presented on this album don’t really do anything to help him either stand out in the musical world or advance his name. They’re not great, but they’re not bad (though I did think his cover of Joe Zawinul’s “Mercy Mercy Me” left a lot to be desired). They’re simply there, evoking precious little emotion from the listener.
That, in and of itself, is the biggest failure of Kenny G—namely, the songs are so homogenized that they’re difficult to tell apart. Sure, you recognize the shell of an Eagles song in his cover of “I Can’t Tell You Why” (which, in truth, isn’t a bad version), or you know the one song featuring Greg Walker on vocals in “Here We Are.” But when it comes time to recognizing differences between tracks like “The Shuffle,” “Find A Way” or “Tell Me”? It’s difficult.
Look, I went into this project fully expecting to hate Kenny G… but, the thing is, I don’t. I also can’t say I like it. If anything, I’m disappointed in it. Precious little on this disc inspires my soul or lives on in my brain long after the disc has stopped spinning, like good music should do. Perhaps this was simply a tentative first step from Gorelick, and other albums later in his career did capture even a small sample of that spark.
Kenny G is not a horrible album, but unless you’re a diehard fan of the new age/smooth jazz genre, it could well be the musical equivalent of Chinese food. Thirty minutes after you’ve finished listening to the disc, you’ll be wanting to hear some more inspiring music. Would I listen to this one again? Surprisingly, yes… but mostly if I needed something playing in the background. It is a product of its environment; I’ll leave that up to the individual listener to determine whether or not this is a good thing.
