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Kenny G gets it.
He has read the critical brickbats, the complaints lodged by fellow jazz musicians.
(Kenny G has created a new low point in modern culture, said guitarist-composerPat Metheny.)
But Kenny G (ne Kenneth Bruce Gorelick) appears unbothered.
Directed byPenny Lane(Nuts!,Hail Satan?
We were trying to figure out if Im a subject or a star, Kenny G began our conversation.
We havent figured it out yet.
How did this documentary come about?
I dont really like music documentaries very much.
Kenny G:Why dont you like music documentaries?
PL:Because theres no conflict in them.
So theres no drama.
Its just like,Heres a person.
People are there just to all say, like, how great they are in the movie.
KG:Did you see theBee Gees documentary?
Why couldnt we have done one like that?
[Both laugh.]
PL:We had this conversation before.
I was trying to think of something that would actually have some conflict in it.
And so I thought about the conflict about artistic taste and how important our artistic taste is to us.
Im not just like,Oh, its interesting that you disagree.
Its like,Im angry.
So I thought that was interesting that was a source of conflict.
And so I was trying to think of a musician who would embody that conflict.
But then I met Kenny and got to know him.
So the movie really evolved a lot because hes more than a vessel for an idea.
Hes a person with a career.
I told Penny right off the bat that this is never going to see the light of day.
Theres nothing here of substance.
And youre going to move on to I dont know Bon Jovi or something.
PL:I love that your counterexample is Bon Jovi.
Not that I want anyone to pat me on the back.
Just that I always admire somebody thats put in the hours to get really good at something.
And then they make it look easy.
So I was hoping Penny would catch that.
And of course she did.
Now she knows me better than anyone.
I work so hard at stuff.
So that was the main thing I wanted to get across.
Its not like,Lets celebrate the guy whos had the diamond multiplatinum smooth-jazz success.
I dont think success is a stumbling block to feel empathy for somebody.
But Ill deal with your second part of the question.
I cry every time I watch it.
If people didnt love his music then there wouldnt have been a film.
The point was not just to kick someone around for two hours.
I knew that there would be a kind of answer to his critics.
I knew that from the beginning, even before I met Kenny.
Sure, it also shows you practicing for thousands of hours.
But is that hard to digest that emphasis on criticism of you?KG:Not really.
Penny has the editing authority to do what she wants.
But actually its not stuff I havent heard.
PL:Its all stuff hes heard before and way meaner versions too.
KG:Way meaner versions!
PL: We did not cast the film with assholes who are just there to trash him.
We tried to find people who maybe didnt love his music but had interesting things to say.
KG:I liked your main critic guy at the end who goes, Whats not to like?
While hes criticizing me, hes got a smile on his face.
But hes true to what he believes.
Ive heard it so many times before.
But Ive also heard Dizzy Gillespie tell me he liked what Im doing.
Miles Davis himself said he likes what Im doing.
But that critic there wrote this shitty thing about me?
Who should I rely on?
That guy or Miles Davis?
I wondered if your participation was motivated in part by being sick of being a punch line.KG:No.
I mean, did you see theSouth Parkepisode?
Thats the greatest thing.
I am onSouth Park!
Somehow Im on the radar of those guys.
And they made a feature of me where I played the note that makes people immediately crap their pants.
I watched interviews with him, and I looked at his social-media channels.
It was very clear to me that he doesnt give a shit.
There was an early version of this film that was calledKenny G Gets the Last Laughor something.
Thats a way better title!
And you admit its something that never occurred to you.
I dont think that was ever the case.
What happened was that smooth-jazz radio started almost because of my sound.
And now theres a place for this kind of music.
And I thought it was interesting and complicated.
He was at the top of the Black Music Chart.
I was just very jarred by that.
We used to have a Black Music Chart?
KG:Ive won a couple of Soul Train Music Awards.
Very few white guys win Soul Train Music Awards.
Very few white guys win Image Awards.
Very few white guys get to play at jazz festivals.
And I remember being the white guy that was alwaysthewhite guy in that environment.
So thats why I never really thought about it in the opposite way.
Listening to Kenny Gfeatures footage from your first music video, which is so amazing.
You are break dancing and you jump up from a backspin straight into a sax solo.
Clearly your label made you do it.KG:Thats one of the most unfortunate things thats happened to me.
KG:It was so embarrassing.
See, this is what happens when
PL: when youre the subject, not the star!
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
