Posts tagged "Kenny G."
Blerd Radio 2013 | Episode 18: 1993 (Part Two)

Blerd Radio 2013 | Episode 18: 1993 (Part Two)

Most of the albums in that picture? We talk about ’em. You should listen.

More Festival News!: New Orleans Jazzfest Lineup Announced

One of my biggest regrets to date is that I have not yet been able to make it down to New Orleans. Several of my good friends have either gone to school in the area or have visited at least once. Between the craziness that is Mardi Gras and the amazing lineups that pop up for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival every year, I feel as though I’m missing out on what would be a really special experience. […]

Award Show Sundays: Getting on Board the Soul Train

This week’s Award Show Sundays pays tribute to the Soul Train Music Awards, including a clip from the very first Soul Train Awards in 1987.

the 5ive at 5: Top 5 Songs Featuring Kenny G. (#1)

If you’re like me on a Friday night, you’re probably sitting in a bar somewhere, sipping on lukewarm cheap beer and hoping you don’t get so drunk that you punch some obnoxious college kid in the head. Hopefully, you’re not like me and you have a hot date on the average Friday night. If your date is of the female persuasion (or if you like your dates to cross-dress), then hopefully you’ll get the chance to ask her to put […]

The 5ive at 5: Top 5 Songs Featuring Kenny G. (#2)

“Duotones” was the album that turned Kenny G. into a legitimate pop star. Although instrumental pop hits were becoming a rarity, there was still enough love for “Songbird” to turn it into Kenny’s first (and I believe, only) Top 10 hit. For the follow-up, Kenny enlisted former Tower of Power vocalist Lenny Williams for “Don’t Make Me Wait for Love”. It became his second Top 40 hit on the pop chart and made a respectable showing on the R&B listing […]

The 5ive at 5: Top 5 Songs Featuring Kenny G. (#3)

For a time, a sax part was practically mandatory to score a Top 40 hit, so Kenny G. found his oral skills in high demand (raises eyebrow and looks into the camera), particularly among his Arista Records brethren and sistren. When the Queen of Soul, came calling, Kenny was there. Babyface asked, Kenny answered. When Toni Braxton needed…well, you get the picture. In the late Eighties, Arista’s main draw was Whitney Houston. Actually, in the late Eighties, MUSIC’s main draw […]

Blerd Appreciation: Kashif

Somewhere over the course of the hour and twenty minutes that me and my friend Jimmy blabbed (don’t worry, we taped the results and called it Blerd Radio Episode 8…posting soon) on Sunday night, the name “Kashif” came up, and I immediately resolved to do a piece on one of the most popular (and influential) producers of the early Eighties. Although he recorded five albums for Arista Records over the course of a decade (and scored a handful of R&B chart […]

The 5ive at 5: Top 5 Songs Featuring Kenny G. (#4)

Believe it or not, Kenny G. was not always a purveyor of bland elevator music. His first couple of albums had a little bit of bounce to them. They were more in line with the dance-flavored R&B music that was poppin’ on the radio and the clubs, thanks to collaborators like writer/producer Kashif (more on him in a more recent column). I didn’t hear “Hi, How Ya Doin’?” for the first time until checking it out on a compliation a […]

The 5ive at 5: Top 5 Songs Featuring Kenny G.

I told you we were gonna start this series with a doozy. Welcome to the first installment of the 5ive at 5. I’m gonna try to post a different Top 5 list every week…and as the title should make clear, this is going to run at 5 PM, Monday through Friday. We’re kicking it off with a celebration of the musical legacy of Mr. Kenneth Gorelick. Yes, folks…we’re talkin’ ’bout that stringy-haired, sax-blowin’ guy that they call Kenny G. The […]

New Release Report 6/29/10: Get Your Scissor On!

A few years ago, the Scissor Sisters were the next big thing. Their debut album was critically acclaimed (hell, even I liked it). Almost all the members of the group were good with a quip, and I seem to remember the “Take Your Mama” video popping up on VH-1 fairly frequently back in the day. They then fell victim to the sophomore jinx. Their second album, “Ta-Dah”, didn’t sell nearly as well (it also wasn’t nearly as good). Plus, on […]