SEATTLE — Grammy winning, hit making saxophone icon Kenny G was in his hometown of Seattle to play 8 shows at Dimitriou's Jazz Alley back in April.
Evening's Jose Cedeno sat down to chat up the hitmaker who attended Franklin High School and the University of Washington about the homecoming shows:
Jose: "How does it feel to be in Seattle again?"
Kenny G: "It's great, I can picture my body where it's at in Seattle, know what I mean? I know my high school's that direction, and I used to live over there, my apartment was over there, and it's great. It's also always great to see the local music lovers come out."
Jose explained to Kenny G that his brother is a superfan, and that his favorite song is "Going Home." Kenny G was surprised.
"Wow, I'm glad you remember that one. Where would he hear the song 'Going Home?' Where did you guys grow up?"
Jose: "We grew up in Venezuela. You were huge in Venezuela!"
Kenny: "I was gonna say — it wasn't in the states, that song was also actually huge in China." Then, Kenny G played a bit of the song on his sax.
Over the years, Kenny G has collaborated with everyone from Weezer to Katy Perry. Jose wanted to know more about a recent collaboration with The Weeknd on the song "In Your Eyes." Kenny G said The Weeknd contacted him about a song with a saxophone riff and asked him to get creative with it.
"Honestly, I think it came out so good. It's one of those solos that just, look, I put a lot of care into everything I do, if you can't tell," said the artist who still practices three hours a day and is renowned for his technical virtuosity. "So if somebody's gonna ask me to do a solo on their record I'm not just gonna go blah blah blah here's your thing. I've dedicated my life to playing the saxophone and I want to give a quality performance."
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