The following is a brief assessment of Kenny G’s stage presence, performance, and professional habits which contribute to his successful music career.

Stage Presence

Within the first sixty seconds of every performance, KG wants to evoke a positive emotional response within the audience. An audience cannot adequately assess the quality or depth of KG’s musical talent until he performs in a way that touches each person individually. Once KG can establish emotional rapport with a listener, that listener will become another devoted fan.

KG seemed to have more swag about him in the late 80’s and mid 90’s. I assume it is because he has now matured to the point where he feels very comfortable in his own skin and he feels that he doesn’t have to go out of his way to prove himself to anyone. While KG is still very popular, I don’t perceive that he will be a dominate figure on the music scene for too much longer because he looses a bit of his edge as the decades progress.

Stage Performance

Kenny G is all about keeping his audience:

1. Intrigued

2. Inspired

3. In suspense

Kenny g sparks interest within his listeners by presenting them with an engaging beginning. After he plays the initial verse and chorus, KG then goes above and beyond the audience’s expectations by rendering a masterful piece of artwork full of rich musical colors. Finally, KG tops off each song with either an escalating improvisational exclamation point or with the fading away of a passionate journey. During every performance, KG takes his listeners to the edge of impossible. KG’s riffs are ways of letting his listeners know that his technical range has no limits, his lungs have no bottom, his agility never diminishes, his creativity has no bounds, and that his improvisational intuition is second to none.
When it comes to the sax, many people have particular aspects that they like most about the sax. Some people like to focus on a saxophone’s softer, sweeter tones while others appreciate its assertive, raspy tones. Some people may characterize a seasoned saxophonist as one who demonstrates a high level of technical agility and complexity during an improvisation. On the other hand, some may characterize a seasoned saxophonist as one who demonstrates a high level of effective simplicity during an improvisation. KG’s goal has been to convince his listeners that he is capable of performing in any given style at any given time.

KG maintains his high level of performance because he wants his hard work to be acknowledged and taken into account. When KG showcases his vast array of licks and phrases, the audience is then made aware of the work ethic and creativity that KG operates from. With a clearer sense of KG’s work ethic and creativity, the audience is then able to determine KG’s overall value. KG’s biggest selling point comes when he can make an emotional connection with his listeners.

Professionalism

At the end of every performance all of KG’s listeners are all faced with the choice of whether to follow him as a life-long fan or to leave him alone to his daring exploits. I believe that it may be best that if those who do not feel particularly entertained by Kenny G should at least explore ways that they can educate themselves on KG’s professional habits which have given him so much success.

As emerging musicians, it is important that we discover what we can glean from KG’s professional career today so that we too can one day compete with him on the highest level. Let‘s assess KG’s musical strengths and weaknesses today so that one day we can provide his fans with a compelling alternative. We should focus on KG’s fans. Let’s get into the minds of the consumers who are favorable towards KG and let’s convince them that our product is equal to or greater than KG’s. Before we can to offer the better product, we must first understand our competitor. We must educate ourselves on how KG is yet successful in spite of the odds that are stacked against him.