Rhythm & Romance

Kenny G

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 5, 2008)
• Original Release Date: February 5, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Concord Records
• ASIN: B0011V7OQA
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #540 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #4 in	Music > Jazz > Smooth Jazz
  #72 in	Music > Pop > Adult Contemporary

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist
Kenny G: THE SMOOTH JAZZ KING!

Has SOLD MORE THAN 38 MILLION CDs in his career!

He's been named the 25th ALL-TIME HIGHEST-SELLING ARTIST IN AMERICA by the RIAA

GRAMMY AWARD WINNER!

Has had 12 #1 BILLBOARD CONTEMPORARY JAZZ ALBUMS in his career

Product Description
Legendary saxophonist extraordinario Kenny G returns with this romantic collection of Latin music, featuring original songs and classic favorites. Contemporary love songs with a Latin twist!!! Kenny G: THE SMOOTH JAZZ KING!

Has SOLD MORE THAN 38 MILLION CDs in his career!

He's been named the 25th ALL-TIME HIGHEST-SELLING ARTIST IN AMERICA by the RIAA

GRAMMY AWARD WINNER!

Has had 12 #1 BILLBOARD CONTEMPORARY JAZZ ALBUMS in his career

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Love him or loathe him., February 5, 2008

By	pp777 (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

Kenny Gorelick, known as Kenny G is a pure instrumentalist jazz artist who broke into the charts long ago...
For those who are unfamiliar, Kenny's music is mainly instrumental and performed on the soprano saxophone (with occasional diversions onto tenor), although this album, along with most of his other mainstream albums contains a couple of vocal numbers, this time in a soul-latino style.
Whilst many would have him classified as a producer of "elevatot muzak", one can only wonder at his undoubted ability and musicality whether or not one actually likes his commercial music.
Kenny has mastered the art of producing hummable tunes that get stuck in your head and yet, at the same time, are wonderfully relaxing and enveloping in one swoop.
One cannot fail to feel just ever-so-slightly sentimental when listening - a rare accomplishment for something that is essentially background music.
Kenny's often described as a jazz musician but whilst one could (and probably should) argue that this is far from jazz, there is still the kind of soulful, relaxed air about each piece that will occasionally produce a slight spine shiver if the ambient mood is right.
"Rhythm and Romance is a unique combination of rich Samba, Salsa and Bossa Nova love songs anchored by Kenny's intoxicating and signature saxophone melodies.
From the classic ballad "Sabor a Mi' to the romantic staple "Besame Mucho", Kenny has created a tantalizing album unlike any other in his catalogue.
On this seductive album, Kenny performs with some of the best Latin musicians including Alex Acuña of Weather Report (drums), Ramon Stagnaro (guitar), John Pena (bass), Michito Sanchez (percussion) Enrique Martinez (accordion), Nathan East (bass), Paulino Da Costa (percussion) and producer Walter Afanasieff (piano) to create a truly infectious rhythmic style.
The album also features guest vocals by rising Chilean star Barbara Munoz and Spanish-speaking pop/rock sensation, Camila.
Despite the grumblings of true jazz lovers, purists and snobs, Kenny G has used his musical talents to successfully blend a pop-oriented appeal with a smooth jazz sound into much success over the years.
But even he must have realized that the time had come to take his music into a new direction.
With "Rhythm and Romance," it seems he has hit all the right notes!
The percussions are strong but not overwhelming and you'll soon find yourself wishing you were on a island getaway.
For Kenny G fans, this album will be another "slam dunk" success story. For the rest of you, put it on when you're having a bad day and watch how fast things change.
With this album Kenny G has signed a new deal with Starbucks Entertainment and Concord Records, breaking a very long artistic 'relationship' with Arista, with which he has started recording since his 1982 self-titled debut.
His final release for the label was the 2006's rather bland I'm in the Mood For Love...The Most Romantic Melodies of All Time, which nonetheless debuted at No.1 on Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz chart.
Album highlights: "Peruvian Nights", "Mirame Bailar" and " Sax-O-Loco", which has made the Top 20 Smooth Jazz Chart.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pass the Chips and Salsa, March 1, 2008

By	JRay (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

Just got this CD today and even on the first spin around I fell in love. It is so great to have a Kenny G album with original music instead of covers or a greatest hits album. This album is wonderful...my toddler and I danced to most of these songs in the kitchen for most of the day. THanks for another great CD Kenny!!! Janis

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Puts you in the mood, March 5, 2008

By	Justo R. Corpuz Jr. "Jayman" (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The title of the CD is Rhythm & Romance and the music that plays is exactly that. From the first catchy notes of Sax-o-loco to the last notes of Salsa Kenny, the music does not let you go until it's over. But by then, you can't wait to start over again. All the selections are outstanding but there are personal favorites. The stand out selections for me are Cope de Amor, Sabor A Mi, Besame Mucho, Brasilia, Sax-o-loco and of course, Ritmo y Romance. I could listen to these selections over and over again which I have done since I downloaded the CD from Amazon MP3 downloads.

I am glad that Kenny left Arista for Starbucks entertainment so he could follow his dream of making the kind of music that he wants to record instead of being told what to record. He has more freedom in writing music that sounds good and it shows how much he has grown musically over the years.

For those interested in listening to similar genre of music from Kenny G, I would recommend buying/listening to Classics in the Key of G. It's not widely available but it's an outstanding CD that has a collection of jazz classics that influenced him during his younger days as a learning musician.

Lastly, I've been listening to Kenny G since his days as guest soloist in an instrumental titled "She likes to Watch" from the Rippingtons Moonlighting CD in the early 80's. He is a great musician who has managed to stay in the realm of quality jazz music all through the years. I'm looking forward to more beautiful music from him.