Kenny G Joins Alternative Band Weezer For An Improvisational Sax Solo
Saxophonist Kenny G, a smooth jazz icon who has sold the most instrumental CDs in history, has surprised many of his fans by collaborating with the alternative rock band Weezer. Kenny, a weekend host on the Smooth Jazz Network, plays an improvised sax solo on the band’s “I’m Your Daddy” for a future edition of AOL Sessions.
“I got an e-mail from my manager,” Kenny told popeater.com. “I don’t know anything about Weezer – nothing. I’ve heard the name, but I never knew any of their songs [except] some song about a sweater,” he added, referring to their 1994 hit, “Undone – The Sweater Song.” (Weezer also had a hit with the song “Buddy Holly.”) Other guests who performed with Weezer during the session, which is to be streamed on AOL in November, included Sara Bareilles and rapper Chamillionaire. Kenny’s solo will be featured on Weezer’s upcoming album, Raditude, to be released November 3.
Kenny told Popeater.com that he lives “in the closet, pretty much” when it comes to new music. “I practice three hours a day, and when I’m done practicing I don’t think about music again,” he said. “I’m off doing other things.” During a break from the Sessions taping, he even invited Weezer leader Rivers Cuomo and his wife, who coincidentally live down the street from him in Malibu, Calif., on a surfing excursion. “I do lots of things,” Kenny says. “I’m not just a musician.”
Kenny says he isn’t looking to get fans who don’t know of his smooth jazz music. “I’m not trying to sell to a certain demographic. I just do what I think is right for me at the time. Whoever hears it, if they like it, they buy it. I’ve been lucky so far because a lot of people seem to like what I do.”
Kenny is currently at work with longtime producer Walter Afanasieff on a new CD. The saxophonist is looking to take the half-finished work in an R&B direction and is meeting with producer Babyface to work on a new song. “I want more rhythm in my music,” Kenny says. “I want my album to have a bit more tempo. Otherwise, I’m going to be lost in the huge smooth jazz array of saxophone players.”