Do people actually transcribe Kenny G?

**S_R_S5** · 07-31-2012, 02:08 AM

Let me say first, I know Kenny G isn't a great musician. However, I find his music is pretty simple which sounds like a great place for beginning jazz musicians to start. Do people ever transcribe him? Just a curious question.

**jtizzle** · 07-31-2012, 02:27 AM

Not worth it for me. Most people start off with Wes, Jim Hall, Grant Green, and the likes, quickly moving on to Charlie Parker.
Then they usually go into modern stuff, or Giant Steps.

**JazzVocab** · 07-31-2012, 02:36 AM

Originally Posted by S_R_S5

Let me say first, I know Kenny G isn't a great musician. However, I find his music is pretty simple which sounds like a great place for beginning jazz musicians to start. Do people ever transcribe him? Just a curious question.

Wha?!

Kenny is one the living legends of jazz guitar..... Have a closer look to his back catalogue please!

I wish I could play anything with the conviction, swing and integrity of KB. Check out his album with Coltrane.

**jtizzle** · 07-31-2012, 02:38 AM

I can't tell if you're joking/punning, but he's talking about Kenny G. Most annoying sax player in the world.

This is what Pat Metheny has to say about him.
JazzOasis.com - Pat Metheny on Kenny G

**S_R_S5** · 07-31-2012, 02:43 AM

LOL I think he is joking. :P

**JazzVocab** · 07-31-2012, 02:54 AM

Ooops.........

Blunder!

**marcwhy** · 07-31-2012, 08:29 AM

Originally Posted by S_R_S5

Let me say first, I know Kenny G isn't a great musician. However, I find his music is pretty simple which sounds like a great place for beginning jazz musicians to start. Do people ever transcribe him? Just a curious question.

Wow, I never thought I'd do this, but I'm going to stick up for KG: to say he's not a great musician is just ignorant. If you ever saw or listened to the Jeff Lorber Fusion band in the 90's, featuring Kenny (Gorlick, I believe?) on sax, you'd be raving about what an incredible musician that guy is. Just because he's 100x more (financially) successful than we'll ever be by playing elevator music does not make him less a musician.

And to answer your question, no, I doubt many people transcribe his stuff (or admit to it).

And Foulds is right: Kenny B is awesome!

**mr. beaumont** · 07-31-2012, 08:33 AM

I stick to transcribing things I like.

For sax players, Paul Desmond's lines are usually easy to figure out...but you'll be surprised how they "sit" on the guitar...still definitely sax lines.

**chrisnewlin** · 07-31-2012, 10:58 AM

Originally Posted by marcwhy

Wow, I never thought I'd do this, but I'm going to stick up for KG: to say he's not a great musician is just ignorant. If you ever saw or listened to the Jeff Lorber Fusion band in the 90's, featuring Kenny (Gorlick, I believe?) on sax, you'd be raving about what an incredible musician that guy is. Just because he's 100x more (financially) successful than we'll ever be by playing elevator music does not make him less a musician.

Well, no. Being financially successful isn't what makes him a terrible musician. He's a terrible human being for overdubbing himself on the Nat King Cole and Louis Armstrong recordings. It was akin to taking a shit on their graves. Whether he's a good musician or not, most people steeped in jazz tradition would spit on him just for that. The fact that he still makes terrible music is a separate issue.

I don't believe anyone actually transcribes Kenny G, but I'm sure there are transcriptions floating around somewhere. Probably done by machines. There's plenty of early swing players that aren't that difficult to transcribe.

**fep** · 07-31-2012, 12:48 PM

Originally Posted by chrisnewlin

Well, no. Being financially successful isn't what makes him a terrible musician. He's a terrible human being for overdubbing himself on the Nat King Cole and Louis Armstrong recordings. It was akin to taking a shit on their graves. Whether he's a good musician or not, most people steeped in jazz tradition would spit on him just for that. The fact that he still makes terrible music is a separate issue.

I don't believe anyone actually transcribes Kenny G, but I'm sure there are transcriptions floating around somewhere. Probably done by machines. There's plenty of early swing players that aren't that difficult to transcribe.

"Terrible human being! Most people would spit on him!" Seriously?

Jeez, it's just music, it's not saving lives. He didn't hurt anyone. I can't believe all this bullying pointed his way. The bullying is what is despicable.

If you don't like it, don't listen too it. People need to get over themselves and their sacred jazz and their over inflated egos. It's like some sort of religious fanaticism.

**setemupjoe** · 07-31-2012, 01:01 PM

Originally Posted by fep

"Terrible human being! Most people would spit on him!" Seriously?

Jeez, it's just music, it's not saving lives. He didn't hurt anyone. I can't believe all this bullying pointed his way. The bullying is what is despicable.

If you don't like it, don't listen too it. People need to get over themselves and their sacred jazz and their over inflated egos. It's like some sort of religious fanaticism.

I agree. Let's tone down the vitriol. It's well known Kenny G is not beloved by the jazz elite. If you want to start simply, there's no better place to start than Charlie Christian, the father of the electric jazz guitar. He's inventive, he swings and his lines are still as fresh today as they were when he played them.

**Sphere** · 07-31-2012, 01:22 PM

If you like the music and playing, go for it. Transcribing anything will be more productive than discussing whether the player is worthy of it or not. It helps if you're learning things you like, rather than things you think you should like.
I personally find the Metheny rant as embarrassing as Kenny G overdubbing himself over an Armstrong recording. (I'm pretty sure it was Natalie Cole on Nat King Cole's).

**keith** · 07-31-2012, 02:13 PM

He certainly is an emotional lightening rod. I agree with joe and fep on this one, not the end of the world. I don't know his stuff outside of the occasional tune I've heard but I would guess that there might be something I could learn from transcribing his music. I always seem to learn something from transcription of a piece even if it's not really something I care for. Since music is influenced by what came before it, starting out transcribing might be more fruitful in jazz by working on early swing pieces then move through time to understand where the vocabulary is going to the present. Just one consideration. We tend to transcribe the stuff that excites us most though so if Kenny G turns you on, have at it without concern!

**chrisnewlin** · 07-31-2012, 02:14 PM

Originally Posted by fep

Jeez, it's just music, it's not saving lives. He didn't hurt anyone. I can't believe all this bullying pointed his way. The bullying is what is despicable.

If you don't like it, don't listen to it. People need to get over themselves and their sacred jazz and their over inflated egos. It's like some sort of religious fanaticism.

Well, then here's my toned down version: Really, it's just about respecting your elders. I don't wanna derail the OP's thread, so I'll leave it at that, but anywhere there's Kenny G, there will be uproar soon to follow.

**S_R_S5** · 07-31-2012, 08:54 PM

I wouldn't call him a terrible person. Maybe a little egotistical? And I didn't mean he was a bad musician, but you can't argue that his music isn't very very simple. He hardly does anything more than pentatonic stuff.

**mr. beaumont** · 07-31-2012, 09:00 PM

How do you know, have you transcribed?

I find his music a snore, but my guess some of the fills on say, "Songbird," would change your mind rather quickly about that pentatonic comment.

**S_R_S5** · 07-31-2012, 09:23 PM

I take it you have transcribed his stuff then?

**MaxPicks** · 07-31-2012, 09:35 PM

He's a pop musician, a very successful one. I don't listen to him at all, nor to Madonna. They play about the same level and make lotsa buck$. All power to them. [thinks ... maybe I should transpose some Lady Gaga ....]

**mr. beaumont** · 07-31-2012, 10:48 PM

Originally Posted by S_R_S5

I take it you have transcribed his stuff then?

Nah, but even the little i've listened at the dentist's office or a cocktail party, i can hear tons of chromatics, lots of arpeggio based stuff...fast chops, lots of quick slurs usually sounds like he's playing a bit sharp.

He's making his money...people get hung up on that Louis Armstrong overdub...but that tune was Satch pandering in the first place. If you're gonna call yourself a professional musician that implies income. Houses have mortgages.

Pentatonics are easy on guitar, but they don't represent what's easy to pull off on a sax...

**Billnc** · 07-31-2012, 11:09 PM

People despise Wes with strings and pop George Benson the same way. If Kenny hates what he is doing he is living his own hell. I don't like him, but will waste no emotional energy on guys who's music I don't like.

90 percent of what we are all doing here (jazz) is despised by the general public. I'm not going to add to any hate.(In spite of how I feel about rap and hip hop.) He's just a sot making money playing bad music. He's at least somewhat competent on the horn.

**Spirit59** · 08-02-2012, 05:06 AM

Originally Posted by S_R_S5

Let me say first, I know Kenny G isn't a great musician. However, I find his music is pretty simple which sounds like a great place for beginning jazz musicians to start. Do people ever transcribe him? Just a curious question.

If you're trying to learn jazz, forget Kenny G. Yeah, his lines are simple, but they're not jazz at all, so they won't be of much use to you.

If you want to transcribe something on the easier side, try some Grant Green. Not too complex but it's absolutely great stuff!

**ColinO** · 08-02-2012, 02:07 PM

I saw a clip of Kenny G playing Desafinado somewhere. It was pretty boring but it was pleasant enough to listen to and it was nice to see more than 10 people in the audience listening to a song like that. I say if he gets more people listening to jazz then good on him. If you want to listen to the original What a Wonderful World, then nothing stops you and KG didnt ruin that version. I think the one who made jazz look bad in this whole flap was Methany. Like fep said - it's just music. I bet Armstrong would have thought it was cool that people were still listening to that song.