Gabi G. Afram

Although The Moment followed four years after Kenny G's blockbuster Breathless, the saxophonist didn't change his approach at all during his time off. Kenny G remains a sweet, melodic instrumentalist, who works entirely in lush, slick adult contemporary pop settings. His playing has improved somewhat in those four years – he soars and dives with effortless skill, and his vibrato remains fleet and elegant – yet after The Moment is finished, you wish that he had tried some new musical territories. That said, it is true that The Moment ranks second to only Breathless in terms of sheer consistency in Kenny G's catalog, thanks to the sustained vision of producer Babyface. Of particular note are the two vocal collaborations (Babyface's "Everytime I Close My Eyes," Toni Braxton's "That Somebody Was You"), which are the best duets to yet appear on any of Kenny G's records.

Kenny G's work can be divided into three main categories: first, his improvisatory fusion efforts as a Jeff Lorber sideman in the late '70s; second, his R&B-oriented albums of 1982-1985; and third, the elevator Muzak he has specialized in since 1986. Falling into the second category, G Force is a fairly decent urban contemporary release that clearly benefits from the input of Kashif (who serves as executive producer). Kashif was hot at the time, and the R&B singer/producer/songwriter had been burning up the charts with hits by Evelyn "Champagne" King, George Benson, Howard Johnson and himself. Kashif's stamp is all over this sleek album; you can hear it on both the tunes with R&B vocals…

Duotones is the fourth studio album by saxophonist Kenny G. It was released by Arista Records in 1986, and peaked at number one on the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, number five on the Jazz Albums chart, number six on the Billboard 200 and number eight on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA. April 2011 8x platinum RIAA sold 28 million internationally. This is the album that put Kenny G over the top, the one that made him a capitol-S star. With DUOTONES, Kenny G finally found the right recipe for his mellow stew of smooth jazz, R&B, and pop. DUOTONES is both easygoing and moody, breezy and cinematic, soulful and schmaltzy, peppy and chill-out music. On this disc, G lowers the R&B quotient a little, and adds some vocalists to the mix (such as the fine Lenny Williams, formerly of Tower Of Power).

Thanks to recordings such as this one, the figure of Johann Wilhelm Wilms (1772-1847) is increasingly coming into focus and prominence as a notable contemporary of Beethoven who deserves better than his previous obscurity. In 1807, the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung described the Wilms as ‘one of the most ingenious, spirited, and best educated artists’ of his generation: a judgment borne out by the this trio of high-spirited chamber works.