"I'm breathing in through my nose and exhaling at the same time. You can do the same. But dont pass out." Kenny G 'warned' his fans with his nose next to the microphone.The wizard with his soprano sax went on, “there is no electronic gadget and I’m no Milli Vanilli.” Meaning no lip synching! This was live, this was real.
The wholesome entertainer that he is, be it with his music or his quips, Kenny gifted Bangalore an evening of surreal music at the UB City on Monday. As the lights went off, Kenny walked in from the right side to a seated audience catching them off-guard but elated. The legend at such close quarters was once-in-a-lifetime experience. Beginning with ‘Silhouette’, he went on to play ‘Sentimental’. Holding a single note for more than five minutes, he headed to the stage. With ‘Sade’, the show had already warmed up the cool evening.
Although on his first India visit, Kenny had done his homework well. His “Namaskaram Bengaluru. Nanage ile thumba khushi agathe. Kshamisi nanage kannada gothilla” had the audience asking for more Kannada bytes.
Havana came next followed by pieces from Rhythm and Romance, his latest album of Latin love songs. He then gave space to his high school bud Robert Damper to play a solo on his piano. Danie Bejarano on the drums, John Raymond on the guitars and Vail Johnson on bass echoed the 20-year friendship they shared with Kenny. Ron Powell’s percussion came in as a bonus and Kenny was all praise for Ron. “I would not get a haircut like him though,” pointing to Ron’s tonsured head, he said, “my popularity will go down”. His locks surely was as close to him as his sax.
Forever-in-love and the over-dubbing of the classic What A Wonderful World with Louis Armstrong was an ensemble of the past and present. The controversy over the much debated mix had died that evening.
Kenny spoke passionately about his sax, “I’ve been having this since my high school days. We’re in love with each other.’’ The best-selling instrumental performer continued with his smooth jazz. Calls for encore and Kenny was back with The Moment. Cadenza, held his fans to a suspension of disbelief. With Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On Kenny signed off as the screens blinked ‘Kenny’s chance to show off his 41 years of practice’.
