Kenny G still surprises

I have always thought of sax music as sexy. Think Grover Washington Jr., or sad as in John Coltrane. But never happy. That is why finding a bright lilt to Kenny G’s sax playing is always a surprise. I thought I had been over this a long time ago during his Songbird days. So when I got the latest Kenny G album, Heart And Soul the balloon that appeared over my head was one that said, what else is new?

A lot it turned out. Well, for starters, there is much of the old Kenny G in the CD. Smooth playing and lovely melodies. The kind that purists believe too pop to be called jazz but which Kenny G fans cannot seem to get enough of. That is why they have already bought over 75 million of his records. I got the familiar happy lilt right on the first note of cut one, Heart and Soul and it stayed up there to the end, rising even in those wonderful collaborations with Robin Thicke, Fall Again and with Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, No Place Like Home.

What was really fun though was finding out that Heart and Soul is actually an R&B album. Kenny G has funk and he shows it off in this all-original collection. You can dance to the music and I will not be surprised to find out that some cuts like G-Walkin’ have become staples in the clubs. Kenny G has already done a lot of good things with his sax. Think languid Latin in his Rhythm and Romance all those love songs in his The Ballad Album and the jazz of the early years.

Kenny G has now added R&B and proven himself good with it. Come to think of it, what he has done in Heart and Soul is so funky, I will not be surprised if he goes the whole hog next time and adds in some rap to his songs. Heart and Soul also includes Déjà vu; Letters From Home; The Promise; My Devotion; G-Walkin’; Sunrise; One Breath; Encore; and After Hours.

If you want more of Kenny G’s music, you might want to check out The Essential Kenny G which includes Songbird, Don’t Make Me Wait For Love, Silhouette, Theme From Dying Young, Forever In Love, Morning, The Moment, Havana, Loving You and others.

And because it is nearing that time of the year again, you might want to listen to The Millennium Mix of his version of Auld Lang Syne in his 15 million selling Miracles Christmas CD. Just think, it has now been 10 years since that recording was released. Listening and going once more over the events of the past century should be fun, nostalgic and maybe bittersweet.

Remembering Eddie Fisher

From smooth jazz, we go to a smooth tenor. Eddie Fisher born Aug. 10, 1928, died on Sept. 22 from complications of hip surgery. He was 82. Fisher was one of the last teen idols with a tenor voice in the pre rock ’n roll era. He preceded Elvis Presley by only a few years at the RCA label. He was the first pop star whose stint in the army in 1951 was made much of by his fans. He served in Korea and came home an even bigger star. He was the first celebrity to be paid a cool $1-M to endorse a product: Coca-Cola.

He had top-rating TV shows that won him two Emmys, Coke Time With Eddie Fisher and The Eddie Fisher Show. He had hit recordings, several of them million sellers. Among these were I Need You Now, Oh My Papa, Tell Me Why, Any Time, Wish You Were Here, Heart, Thinking Of you, I’m Yours, Count Your Blessings, The Little Shoemaker, I’m Walking Behind You, With These Hands and Lady Of Spain.

Fisher was on top of his career when he fell in love with Elizabeth Taylor, widow of his best friend Mike Todd. He left his wife, young actress Debbie Reynolds and married Liz. She divorced him three years later when she fell in love with Richard Burton. The scandal generated by all these events propelled Taylor and Reynolds to bigger stardom but it was downhill for Fisher from then on. He never recovered.

His and Debbie’s daughter Carrie went on to become Princess Leia in the Star Wars saga and a prolific writer. Another daughter, Joely by actress Connie Stevens is an accomplished actress.