Kenny G Live!

I saw kenny g in person last night!

This was a man whose music I had grown up listening to and never once got tired of. Seeing and hearing him perform live was simply magical! I can’t believe I almost missed this one-night concert. It started at 8pm and was estimated to end at 11pm.

The band started playing onstage for a minute, and then we heard the very familiar saxophone music floating in. The man came in from the back of the concert hall, and the lucky ones at the back managed to snap close-up pictures of him. I’m so jealous! In his slow walk to the stage, he held a note for more than three minutes without pausing for breath!

He played his popular tunes like sentimental, silhouette, havana and a few upbeat ones like g-bop and against doctor’s orders to rouse the crowd.

When he played the sentimental music, I felt myself so drawn to his music I wanted to cry. His wife is one very lucky lady!

Just when it seemed like he wasn’t going to say a word at all, he started speaking to the crowd in mandarin. He could say quite a few lines in mandarin which didn’t exactly sound right at times, but it was still impressive.

He also introduced his band, which included the piano player whom he had known since high school, and the bassist whom he had played together with for 15 years. The black guy on percussion really entertained and interacted with the crowd for a few minutes as kenny g went backstage for a short break. He was hot, and very muscular!

When kenny g returned, he joked that a saxophonist develops a completely different set of muscles. He also explained how he managed to hold a note for more than three minutes earlier on. He was able to breathe and blow at the same time!

After assuring us that his saxophone was connected to a microphone and not an oxygen tank, he proceeded to hold a note for a minute and breathed in at the same time. The audience could hear his breaths through the microphone, during which the saxophone sound never paused. How he did that was a complete mystery!

After playing a few more pieces, the concert came to an end. He finally encored with songbird and my heart will go on. By 10:15pm, the concert ended. It was over sooner than I had expected. But still, it felt surreal watching him perform live. I tend to think that concerts are a major waste of money, save for a few exceptions. Kenny g is one of them. I’m glad I didn’t miss it.

And I know for the next few nights, I would be falling asleep to his sweet music.