A friend recently posted on Facebook a screen shot of SpongeBob Squarepants that featured the clarinet stylings of Kelpy G. This cracked me up. Obviously, Kelpy G is a parody of the saxophonist Kenny G. Kelpy even kind of looks like Kenny. Or does Kenny look like Kelpy? The mind boggles.
Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (the G of Kenny G), born June 5, 1956, is a smooth jazz, contemporary, "easy listening" American musician. In 1973, while still in high school, G was hired as a sideman in Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra. After studying accounting at the University of Washington in Seattle, he signed on to the Arista Records label in 1982.
More recently, aside from being one of the top-selling solo instrumentalist in America, he makes an appearance in the Katy Perry video Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) as Uncle Kenny (playing on the roof at the party). Interestingly, the actual saxophone player you hear on the track is Saturday Night Live musical director and tenor sax hero, Lenny Pickett.
While I fully applaud G's success at making a name for himself, and at furthering the popularity of the saxophone, I'm a bit indifferent with regards to his music. A bit too monotonous for my taste, but perhaps that's what "smooth jazz" is supposed to be like. On the other hand, whenever I tell someone who asks that I play the saxophone, I get the maddening response: "Oh, I love the saxophone. I love Kenny G." Why maddening? Because there are so many other truly fabulous and talented saxophonists out there, historically and currently, that it seems a shame that the only saxophonist that people are aware of is Kenny G.
Oh,well. Play on Kenneth.
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