That final song reduced the woman seated next to me to tears. I guess thatвЂ™s one of the things that happens when white folks play jazz.Д«ut the artist and his band were ready, and God knows his fans were ready to hear them, literally, play the night away during a show that wrapped up at the stroke of midnight with вЂњAuld Lang SyneвЂќ from KennyвЂ™s 1999 Faith album. I have been attending music concerts since 1983, and until New YearвЂ™s Eve I had never attended one - of any genre - that started early. The nightвЂ™s first surprise came at 10:19pm, when Kenny G took the stage 11 minutes early. Photo courtesy of Coleman Communications. If youвЂ™ve not heard вЂњG-BopвЂќ live, youвЂ™ve not heard it. The 63-year old Kenny G repeatedly reminded fans of why he is the best selling instrumental artist of all time, via faithful live versions of radio smashes like вЂњSongbird,вЂќ вЂњForever In Love,вЂќ вЂњSilhouette,вЂќ and вЂњGoing Home,вЂќ stunning covers like вЂњMy Heart Will Go OnвЂќ and вЂњPick Up The Pieces,вЂќ and underrated funk workouts like his original вЂњG-BopвЂќ from his multiplatinum 1992 Breathless album. But close your eyes while youвЂ™re listening to him play and I swear to Black Jesus you wouldnвЂ™t know that. You wanna hear what I really thought? OK, since you asked: Very honestly, вЂњhe played the hell out of that hornвЂќ is a sanitized version of the four words that kept going through my head throughout that show. And he showed all of us what theyвЂ™re supposed to sound like Tuesday night. I donвЂ™t pretend to know the details behind the instruments, but I know what theyвЂ™re supposed to sound like. I know he played at least two of them, a soprano - his original from high school - and a tenor sax.

Very technically, he played the hell out of those horns. That night, the legendary sax man did what you would expect a legend to do: he played the hell out of that horn. If there was a bad note played during Kenny GвЂ™s final performance of a five day year-end mini-residency at Blue Note Napa, I didnвЂ™t hear it.

Kenny g breathless album covers