Greetings fellow sax player!
Well ya hit the jackpot. I am someone who doesn't like Kenny G's music, and I am not jealous. Even better yet, I know exactly why I don't like his music, and the icing on the cake is: I respect your right to like him, and won't hold it against you. *smiles*
(taking another swig of Nyquil) I can't stand to listen to him anymore. For real! Years ago, when I first started learning, and before my "King Zephyr" was ripped off, I enjoyed Kenny's music. The problem was that I got to a point where I could see and hear where he isn't able to go while I'm listening to him. I get annoyed - even frustrated. My mind gets to thinking - "Go here now Kenny! Go there now Kenny!" If you watch his videos - notice the embouchure. He plays out da side of his mouth even though he has a normal overbite and flat teeth. I tried that once just to see what it would be like, and there was a whole lotta stuff I couldn't do that way - and neither does he - which is why I think he sticks to the soprano where he can reside in those octaves? Consider a low, sustained Eb on your Bari, try and play it out da side of your mouth. Anyway this leads me up to saying that the BIGGEST turn off for me is that he seems to enjoy living in the pentatonic realm at legato. How much of that can a person take? If I was a sea turtle crossing the ocean then maybe I could endure it longer?
On the plus side....many people like listening to him, and he's been great for saxophone sales in Taiwan. He's kept half of micronesia employed for the last 10 years. That is a good thing! He has way more money than I have, so he can afford engineers, the best intruments, etc etc. So, I'd guess he's been very blessed. He has mastered cyclic breathing, which is something I wish I could do. He won the world record for holding a note for something like 45 minutes, but I also know there are probably many players out there who could beat it, but would rather not bother. There you have it! I've nothing against him as a person though. I just can't swallow the music, (there isn't anything for me to digest). My honest opinion.
I played an old, student model alto Armstrong a couple months ago for a week that I borrowed when my Buescher was being regulated at the shop. It was quite different, but I was surprised just how easy it was to blow through that Armstrong. I would have no problems with having kept it as a backup. Somebody had left an old, Brilhart 5* in the case, and I tried to use that also, but YUCK, the tooth plate was so worn down that my teeth sunk into it. It made me want to barf.
What mpcs and reeds are you using. I'm using Vandoren ZZ reeds (2.5) on an Otto Link metal 5*. I was fortunate in that I arrived at this setup without going through a lot of changes first. I'd say my sound is a little dark - without a lot of edge. I would like to have just a little more edge than I have now, but that's kinda hard with a Link mpc. I've been thinking of giving Alexander Superial reeds a try and changing to a brighter ligature. Maybe an Oleg? If none of that works, one of these days, I'm going to get another Link with a wider tip opening - maybe a 7 or larger. Lot's of players are raving over those Alexander reeds, and saying they can go for months on them. Have you tried those?
Yup! Candy is very good! I was lucky to be able to communicate with her on another Internet BBS once. She has no problems with giving tips to newbies like me. Great person! Total package (ahem). She's also a fan of Sanborn, Joe Lavano, Phil Woods, etc. I really believe, if she hangs in there, she'll become a female Sanborn in another 10 years or so. I always get stoked when I see a female saxophonist - a serious one that is.
Now if I could just get her to give me lessons at home......
Oh, you may not know this name, but I got free tickets to hear this guy play at a college back in October. His name is Frank Morgan. He learned his stuff straight from Charlie Parker. His dad was a guitarist in Parker's band, and Parker took him under his wing when he was kid. Then he got too close to Parker and started doing heroin also. Spent a lot of years doing time for it too! When Parker died, he turned himself in to rehab. Now he's made a comeback at AGE 70! Darn he is good too! His band is called the "Frank Morgan Quartet" and he's touring all over the US with Cecil Macbee.