Concert Review — Kenny G At Cache Creek Casino
I’m not going to mention a single song that the legendary Kenny G played on that magical saxophone of his last Saturday night, at Cache Creek Casino in Northern California, just outside of Sacramento. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.
Try as I might, I can almost never recall the names of his songs, even as the melodies become as familiar as old friends. Just before Kenny’s sold-out show, I hesitated before admitting that to the best selling instrumental artist of all time.
Thankfully, Kenny wasn’t offended. In fact, he told me that that’s fairly common.
“That makes sense, and that’s ok, actually,” Kenny casually said. “You recognize the melodies, right? That’s what counts. That’s what I like to hear.”
I know that was a bit of a name drop, and I’m not proud of that, but yes, I got to speak with Kenny G backstage before his show. In fact, I watched him work his magic as he set-up a raffle segment of the performance.
Surprisingly, Kenny didn’t perform any of the cuts from his upcoming album, Innocence. The artist has described it as a collection of lullabies. His rational for not playing any of the upcoming songs during Saturday night’s show was shared with some of the self-deprecating wit and humor that’s a part of any Kenny G show.
“People are already falling asleep when they’re listening to me,” Kenny chuckled. “If I played lullabies tonight, they’d be dead to the world.”
Kenny G is as funny and charming as he is talented, and everyone got a chance to experience that. Immediately after the performance, Kenny signed autographs and posed for pictures with fans in the lobby. I stood and watched the legend sign every CD, listen to every story, and pose for every selfie, for the hundreds of fans waiting in line for him when he walked out. He was undoubtedly tired — he told me as much before the show — and had to hit the road immediately after for one more show here in the US before heading off to Thailand for another set of performances. But he took the time to let us all know that he appreciates the life and career that’s been made possible by his millions of fans.
Only a couple of times over the years have I seen a major artist show so much care and appreciation for those fans. Kenny G is a class act, and I was almost as impressed by that as I was by his showmanship and prodigious talent with that sax Saturday night.
I was so impressed, in fact, that I’m going to buy my first-ever collection of lullabies next month. It’s not typically my genre of choice, but I could always use a good nap.
Come back during the week of November 27 for more of my EXCLUSIVE conversation with Kenny G. He told us about his Innocence album, to be released December 1.
Catch up with Kenny G at kennyg.com.
Catch up with freelance writer Michael P Coleman at MichaelPColeman.com.
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