Best known for his sultry, smooth, instrumental romantic ballads, and curly shoulder length locks, popular saxophonist Kenny G broke with tradition last year, when he recorded an album of Latin themed music, Rhythm & Romance. Kenny, along with his slick five piece band; Robert Damper on keyboards, Ron Powell on percussion, Daniel Bejarando on drums, John Raymond on guitar, and Vail Johnson on bass, perform a sampling of his greatest hits from the smooth jazz genre, along with the music from his Latin flavored CD on the 2008 live concert  DVD and Blu-Ray recording entitled Kenny G: An Evening of Rhythm Romance, filmed at Humphrey's By the Bay in San Diego. 

This concert is a smooth jazz lovers delight from start to finish, combining the best of both worlds; tender, passionate, smooth jazz melodies with salsa, samba, and bossa nova influences. Kenny and his band showcase their versatility with improvisational accents that spice up many of Kenny's most memorable and recognizable hits. The concert also includes a lights out (literally) percussion solo and ultra funky bass solo. Kenny displays his multiple Grammy Award winning talent holding notes for what seems like an eternity, on several numbers.

Highlights include the opening number, Home, in which Kenny displays his ability to hit the high notes and lace his romantic melodies with thrilling saxophone riffs, in this silky smooth jazz number. Kenny and the band light up the stage with the up-beat Latin style number Havana, while Kenny is at his  steamy best on the romantic ballad, Forever In Love.

The band truly sizzles on the hypnotic Latin tinged Rhythm & Romance and the mid-tempo Latin styled pop tune, Besame Mucho, followed by Kenny and the band accompanying a vocal performance on screen by Satchmo (Louie Armstrong) on his signature tune, What A Wonderful World. Kenny and the band are joined by a trumpeter for the scintillating R & B number Average White Band's  Pick Up The Pieces. The concert ends on a mellow tone, with one of Kenny's biggest smooth jazz hits, Songbird.

Far from Kenny's usual laid back musical style, this energetic, spirited performance, has the audience really grooving to the music in the intimate small venue setting. Kenny and the band, develop an easy going rapport with the audience, directly involving them on the percussion sequence, and showing photos from their high school yearbook as Kenny introduces the band members, including the keyboardist that has been with him since his high school jazz band days.

The sound and visual quality on the Blu-Ray version are first rate, filmed in 1080i, with Dolby Digital 5.1 HD sound. The camera work and lighting are also solid, with a nice mixture of close-ups and wide angle shots and soft, non-intrusive, lighting. The Blu-Ray package includes an introduction to the show and interview with Kenny G, as he discusses his career, as well as several nicely arranged bonus Christmas tracks, which seem a bit seasonal and out of place with the rhythm and romance theme. While Latin and jazz purists may sneer at this effort, smooth jazz lovers will not be disappointed.

Overall, Kenny G: An Evening of Rhythm Romance is a very entertaining live concert experience, and demonstrates the quality of his musicianship, that has resulted in sales of over 50 million albums worldwide. The concert not only features some sizzling sax solos, but a lively combination of spicy Latin and pop accents, that add a fresh and vibrant dimension to Kenny G's normally pleasantly predictable musical style.

Complete List of Tracks:

Home
Silhouette
Havana
Percussion Solo
G-Bop
You're Beautiful
Forever In Love
Rhythm & Romance
Sax-O-Loco
Besame Mucho
What A Wonderful World
Pick Up The Pieces
Bass Solo
Cadenza
Songbird

Christmas Tracks:

Rehearsal for Christmas songs
Deck the Halls
12 Days of Christmas
Dreaming of a White Christmas
Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older