On Sunday, famous saxophonist and composer Kenny G performed in Uganda. It was his first time in Uganda but his second in Kenya, where he revealed he had once come for a holiday. Now, Kenny G’s music is one that has transcended generations, most of it, released between the 1970s and 1980s, it still finds ways of staying relevant in some way.
In Uganda, as long as you’re social, you have definitely interacted with his music in one way or another. Thus, even when the concert mainly attracted a relatively older audience, there were still young people in their 30s enjoying it.
But the oddly misplaced people in the audience were the Gen-Zs. See, most of these are in their teenage season and a few have hit 20. ‘So, when I heard there was an international artist, I was excited because dad said he was taking us, but who is this now? Who’s Kenny G?’ One boy wondered while talking to his sister, who wasn’t really as clueless as he was.
‘You have definitely heard one of his songs, I discovered yesterday that I knew his music all along,’ the sister responded. There were many of such young people in the audience, who probably wanted to be anywhere in the world but at the Mistil Gardens, sadly for them, their parents either want them to experience fine music or simply carry them around as accessories.
There were two daughters who kept arguing with their father seeking to know if Kenny G is as big as Rema. The poor man kept laughing telling them Rema is not known beyond Uganda.
Maybe he didn’t notice that the Rema the daughters were talking about and the Rema he was dismissing were two different people, countries and sex.
Well, it’s understandable, two Remas, one did Calm Down and the other Juice wa Mango, they are both popular in their own rights. Just like Chris Evans, one plays Captain America, the Marvel Avenger who lifts Thor’s hammer, while there’s Chris Evans Kaweesa, a Ugandan artist who tells a story of how he was hit with a hammer ten times. different people, same scenarios and same names.
The beauty however, all these young people stayed active through the night, thanks to the DJ set which started with old school and somehow progressed to a Beyonce set from her Beyonce bowl Christmas performance and then the Superbowl performance by Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent, Mary J Bilge and Kendrick Lamar.
It was almost at that time that Kenny G stepped on stage. He started his set with Loving You. It’s somehow hard not knowing Loving You.ok you may not know the song but when you hear it, you will notice you have heard the song before.
The song, like many of his, are famous at Ugandan weddings, but not during the romantic moments. ‘Wait, this is the guy who does food music?’ One of the boys asked. And there you have it, Kenny G’s music is synonymous with being fed, at least in Uganda, whether it’s a house warming, birthday, anniversary or a wedding, this music is played as people are eating.
And in between, the announcer will ask someone to move a car before the music continues. His songs like Silhouette and The Moment have all been played at events while food is being served that people don’t really know which one is which. They only tell the difference when they start playing but still don’t know the titles.
So, often people would turn to each other and ask, so which one is that, the other would answer, it’s also played during meals. When it comes to concerts, Ugandans believe they have to sing along to every song to complete an experience, but this show was a challenge. Thus, most of them kept humming or making that tulululu. sound as he played.
Some were in the moment, like a gentleman who kept playing an imaginary saxophone using a Tusker Malt bottle, a sight that drew laughter from those around him. Then there was the sophistication, those who take their Johnnie Walker neat and those looking for themed cocktails. But at the end of the day, regardless of the bill of one’s sophistication, they were all humming wrong saxophone notes.
But then My Heart Will Go On, his closing song happened, this, everyone seemed to know the words, thus, a chance to put lyrics to a song that didn’t have lyrics had come. Everyone sang, and Gen-Zs somehow knew the song too.
On the side…
Kenny G was a master stroke, he was testament that once one keeps walking with a genre, time comes when they become the definition of it. Besides many saxophonists who bounce between variations of saxophones, this man has created a brand out of playing the soprano saxophone. He revealed that he moves with a 25-year-old saxophone, whether it is the same he played, that we didn’t get to know.
Besides his crowd work though, the easy approachable attitude during his performance, he was also the epitome of professionalism. He did his sound check at 4pm, that’s even when he had arrived in Uganda earlier on Sunday morning. The fact that he had performed in Nairobi the previous night didn’t affect him.
He did his sound check and stayed by the venue, especially in the VIP section trying to map the sound. Unlike most artists who choose mystery, avoiding to be seen before they hit the stage, he stayed behind until he was sure the sound was exactly as he wanted it.
That’s class.