I can’t lie, I was never into Kenny G — at all. I remember in a High School music class the teacher played some and tried to get us on board, pointing out that his breath control, and technique in general was flawless. And I believe that I could hear that — straight away. But I didn’t need to hear any more of the music.
I wasn’t above such things though — I really loved the Moonlight Sax albums by local jazzer, Brian Smith. Who was a dynamite player back in the day, and, rightly, was earning some cash by serving up what kids would now maybe consider ‘slop’.
There’s always been an interest in schmaltz, the sophisticated and justified albums in my collection are Bacharach and the Carpenters, but I also have long been obsessed with the treacly theme to The Young and The Restless, Pino Donnagio’s most syrupy soundtracks (think Carrie, and many others) have always held my ear too.
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As I’ve got older I’ve just leaned more heavily into the schmaltz. It fits with the TV movies and novelisations I love.
A couple of months back I was a guest on RNZ to talk about “Guilty Pleasures” and the death of them — no one is worried now about what anyone thinks, and there’s a fan of everything somewhere. And this is great by the way. Secret shame with music is stupid. Liking Kenny G doesn’t mean you don’t also love John Coltrane — and remember Kenny G was Miles Davis’ choice as opening act, and before that as a teenager G was in the Barry White Love Unlimited Orchestra. So that’s the credentials I need to know — that means a lot more than my school music teacher telling me about his breath control.
RNZ Nights (June 2026): No Shame In The Playlist
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Jun 15
I had the great pleasure of being invited back to speak with Emile Donovan last week on his show, Nights on RNZ. We talked about how no one should feel shame anymore for music selection — we are post Guilty Pleasure.
That night on the RNZ show, they set me up by playing Kenny G’s Songbird as an intro and the producers told the host (in another studio) that I was pretty much grooving to it in my chair. He tried to bust me on that, so I stole his intro and just talked about some Kenny G facts — I’d read his memoir.
I drove home after the show with Songbird on repeat, and dreamed up a short story about a serial killer or psycho-stalker that is always playing that song. I haven’t written it (nor am I living it — don’t panic, we’re not in writing class anymore!) But maybe one day…the idea can sit there for a bit…
A couple of years back I was given Kenny G’s Breathless on tape — and also have a cheap CD copy too. It is not my favourite by the G. But it was everyone’s favourite for a while; the biggest selling instrumental album of all time in the early/mid 90s. It’s Kenny’s sixth, and it’s the start of the absolute complacency, but even through that you can hear the amazing playing if you want:
Like, all I’m saying is it’s there! Dude can blow.
I’ve found Breathless to be the elevator music I need at work some days, or after work some nights. I put this on, and it’s like the soft-porn soundtrack to those 90s erotic thrillers. (A strange comfort, I mean). It’s like an instrumental version of the music that plays in The Room when Johnny is trying to locate Lisa’s vagina by checking her belly-button first. He stomach-fucks the shit out of her to music as bad (good!) as this.
Um, yeah, where was I…
Ah, I kinda like Kenny G. But I know he’s ridiculous.
I never owned this on tape before. But I must have been close to buying it. And I’m not mad to have it now. I need to find 1986’s Duotones because that is the one!
But for now, this will do nicely. It’s just vapid enough for the purgatory it sometimes soundtracks.
And I even think this song with Peabo is a banger!
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