Unit 1 Task 1

Saxophonist Kenny G is now the world's most successful jazz musician. He was born in 1956 as Kenny Gorelick in Seattle, USA, and he learned to play the saxophone at an early age. When he was just 15 years old, he toured Europe with his High School band. After studying at Washington University he started his career as a musician. In 1982 he signed for Arista Records and made his first solo album Kenny G.

Success came slowly at first, but during the 1990s Kenny became well-known on the international scene. He releasedBreathless, his most successful album so far in 1993, and in 1994 won the Best Artist Award at the 21st American Music Awards held in Los Angeles.

As well as making records, he also found time to play in front of another famous saxophone player—US President Bill Clinton—at the "Gala for the President" concert in Washington, and to break the world record for playing a single note (45 minutes and 47 seconds!) at the J & R Music World Store in New York in 1997.

During the last 20 years, Kenny G has played with superstars like Aretha Franklin, Michael Bolton and Whitney Houston, and he has sold more than 36 million albums worldwide... and he hasn't sung a note!