Kenny G

The sound of Kenny G’s saxophone is as iconic as his curly coif; indeed, both are instantly recognizable. His latest release, New Standards, the title of his 19th studio album, his first since 2015’s Brazilian Nights, could well be used to describe his four-decade body of work, a vision of jazz that helped launch both a musical genre. The new critically acclaimed HBO documentary, Listening to Kenny G – humorously reconsiders the purist critical backlash to his music – shows it’s now cool to not only be Kenny G, but admit you’re a fan. New Standards continues the musical path that has seen Kenny G sell 75 million albums around the world, looking back to the classic ‘50s and ‘60s jazz ballads for inspiration, updating them with new studio technology. The tracks are almost equally divided between soprano and tenor sax, with one song, “Two of a Kind,” featuring him on both, duetting with himself. For “Legacy,” he sampled the great Stan Getz playing tenor, creating a duet with him on soprano sax. Kenny performs a sprightly soprano sax on the opening “Emeline.” “Paris by Night” evokes a night stroll on the Seine and “Anthem” sports a duet between Kenny G on soprano and cello, giving the track an anthemic drive. “Blue Skies” he wrote with piano player Randy Waldman, a fellow airplane pilot. “Milestones” offers an homage to classic jazz tropes, and the closing “Waltz in Blue,” ends the album on a rounded low B-flat, the perfect answer to the high E which begins the album.