Classics in the Key of G

Classics in the Key of G
Studio album by Kenny G
Released June 28, 1999
Genre Jazz
Length 55:27
Label Arista
Producer Kenny G
Walter Afanasieff
David Foster
Kenny G chronology

Kenny G - Greatest Hits
(1997)
Classics in the Key of G
(1999)
Faith: A Holiday Album
(1999)

Classics in the Key of G is the first cover album by saxophonist Kenny G. It was released by Arista Records on June 28, 1999, and reached number 1 on the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, number 13 on the Internet Albums chart, number 17 on the Billboard 200 and number 27 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[1]

Track listing

  1. "Summertime" (featuring George Benson) (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) - 6:46
  2. "The Look of Love" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) - 5:32
  3. "What a Wonderful World" (lead vocal: Louis Armstrong) (George David Weiss, Robert Thiele) - 3:03
  4. "Desafinado" (Antonio Carlos Jobim, Newton Mendonça) - 5:52
  5. "In a Sentimental Mood" (Duke Ellington, Manny Kurtz, Irving Mills) - 4:56
  6. "The Girl from Ipanema" (lead vocal: Bebel Gilberto) (Antonio Carlos Jobim, Norman Gimbel, Vinícius de Moraes) - 4:17
  7. "Stranger on the Shore" (Acker Bilk, Robert Mellin) - 3:09
  8. "Body and Soul" (Edward Heyman, Frank Eyton, Johnny Green, Robert Sour) - 7:20
  9. "'Round Midnight" (Bernie Hanighen, Cootie Williams, Thelonious Monk) - 6:26
  10. "Over the Rainbow/ The Girl from Ipanema (Instrumental)" (E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, Harold Arlen / Antonio Carlos Jobim, Norman Gimbel, Vinícius de Moraes) - 7:49

Singles

Information taken from this source.[2]

Year Title Chart Positions
US Adult Contemporary
1999 "What a Wonderful World" #22

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [3]
Entertainment Weekly D+[4]

The third track features G's music overdubbed on Louis Armstrong's original recording. This move was criticized by musicians such as Pat Metheny[5] and Richard Thompson,[6] who were angered by what they perceived as arrogance on G's part to use a song by Louis Armstrong for personal gain.

References