You have to admit Kenny G has talent. It’s a question of how he applies that talent.
You have to admit Snooki has talent, too, in that case. And Pia Zadora. And Jonathon, that zombie kid who likes turtles. And Caitlin Upton. Talent is just spewing out of all these people!
You put Kenny G in the same category as Justin Beiber, but I see him as more of a Liberace, someone with talent but not much taste.
This. People appreciate songs that are “comfort food”. They like what they know. They like what they have memories associated with. And dancing is about feeling the music and moving with it. Simple rhythms are better for that.
Women are more likely to dance then men. Real men don’t dance. They just watch hot ladies dance. That’s the attitude that many men have. And knowing a song, and being able to follow the rhythm and anticipate the music, and feeling emotionally connected to the song are all important things for dancing to music. Complicated songs that change beat patterns and rhythms constantly aren’t great for dancing. You have to know the song well to be able to anticipate, and much of dancing is carrying the rhythm forward.
I think you missed the joke. AnalogSignal’s comment was a joke on the line that referred to Natalie Cole and Nat King Cole.
That’s awesome! No, I wouldn’t like that as an actual song, but good job.
I would say that description applies to Justin Beiber as well.
People don’t want to acknowledge this statement, but to me, this cuts to the heart of the matter, and I believe justifies Metheny’s outrage.
I want to acknowledge your acknowledgement. 
Thanks, and yeah, to me that is the musician/artist perspective here.
**GreenElf **- Kenny G is an accomplished sax player, sure. I didn’t comment on the “does he really play sharp?” question upthread because I don’t play reeds (is **Beware of Doug **hanging in this thread at all?). I think the situation is that he doesn’t regulate his notes and at his peak breathing, some of his notes blow sharp. That would be an example of nitpick to the craft of this playing.
And I agree with your comparison to **Liberace **- i.e., technique + no taste. I haven’t listened hard to Liberace (for some reason) but IIRC he was considered a truly excellent pianist. I would argue that Kenny G is a very good sax player, with a limited melodic range and predictable phrasing who knows how to sell to an audience.
Maybe it’s just me, but I’m surprised the song in question has created such outrage. I’ve always found “What a Wonderful World” to be a heaping pile of shit anyway. The song itself was unworthy of Armstrong, so it doesn’t bother me that Kenny G decided to put his stamp on it. Besides, people have been covering, rearranging and tampering with it for ages. Most times for the better (ala Joey Ramone or Israel Kamakawiwo’ole). I mean it’s not like he dubbed himself over Billie Holiday singing “Strange Fruit” or something to that effect.
The way I see it is we have a lightweight fluff musician dubbing over a lightweight song. Perhaps Metheny should have saved his outrage for something a little more offensive.
Covering and rearranging is not the same as “singing over”/“playing over” the original.
Just wait for my version Betthoven’s 5th when I take the 1984 von Karajan conducted version and add a C chord during the final chorus.
I’ll be hailed as a piano genius. 
That’s been pointed out several times - it is clearly a point of knowledge that leads to going with:
[ul]
[li]**Team Metheny **(Kenny G is a douchey, slimey sellout who is playing over someone else’s work)[/li]
- Or -
[li]Team G (Metheny is a bitter twit who wishes he had the foresight to record over a twee chestnut like that - and recording over someone else’s work is an artist’s/record company’s perogative)[/li][/ul]
I can totally see Tyler Lautner putting on a Muppet wig to play Kenny G, and Pattinson putting on a blunt-cut mop of “serious artist hair” to play Metheny…
I guess I don’t see the outgrage and therefore think it is just sour grapes because:
- Armstrong’s version still exists.
- No one has to listen to Kenny G playing over it
- Unless Kenny G has publicly stated that he did this because he thinks he has equivalent talent to Armstrong, the “not worthy” comments are BS projection.
Yeah, I mean, even if you think you’re only an average to good player, if you’re going to overdub someone, are you going with someone else of average ability, or are you going with the best?
I can’t come up with an great analogy because I’m not hep on mediocre contemporary popular musicans, but…
If, say, Bryan Adams wants to overdub a duet with John Lennon on Across the Universe or Julia or Tomorrow Never Knows, then fuck the little blond Canadian twit. OTOH if Bryan Adams wants to overdub a duet with John Lennon on Happy Christmas (War is Over)… ehh, who cares.
People like making fun of Kenny G, and this gives them the opportunity to do so. I’m disappointed that Richard Thompson piled on, he doesn’t really need to do that.
And I don’t see why Placido should care. The originals are still there to be enjoyed. And discouraging people from doing this sort of thing might stop from creating a work like Danger Mouse’s Grey Album.
I have to admit that i would love to listen to that!