Kenny G

North Hollywood, California -- 1994

One day I stopped by Rheuben Allen's Sax Shop in North Hollywood to drop off my horns for repair. The shop was closed due to a private appointment, but Reuben unlocked the door and let me in. Lo and behold, there was Kenny G, bespectacled and curly mopped. I got to hang and talk with him for about half an hour.

At the time, the folks from Warner Music Discovery were pushing to help me find a manager. I asked Kenny what he thought about having a manager and an agent and all of those people taking a cut. He said he would rather give up 30% of a lot of money than 0% of nothing!

Then he noticed my Eb sopranino saxophone which is similar to his Bb soprano but smaller and higher pitched. He had never seen one before so I offered to let him try it out. He blew a few tentative notes and then spewed a ferocious string of his signature licks. Afterwards he exclaimed that he wasn't used to having to blow so hard, and I had to laugh!

I left him with an autographed copy of my Tigress CD signed, "To Kenny G -- Thanks for paving the way!" I believe his success led to myself and a lot of other sax players getting record deals...at least for a while.

For more about Kenny G, go to www.kennyg.com.