At 69, Kenny G reveals the secret behind his timeless energy

The atmosphere was electric. A hush fell across the room. The air charged. Among the audience were some of Kenya’s notable CEOs, business and political elites – Peter Kenneth, Peter Ndegwa (Safaricom), Joshua Oigara (Stanbic), Jane Karuku (EABL), James Mworia (Centum), Jaswant Singh Rai (Rai Group Chairman), Joseph Muganda (Nation Media Group Chairman) among others, all gathered for the main event of the evening: Stanbic’s One Night Only orchestral jazz showcase.

But if anyone expected this ‘mature’ crowd to sit back with polite restraint, they were wrong. Screams and cheers tore through the ballroom from the raucous crowd. Understandably, they were in the presence of a man whose music has set the mood in weddings, candlelit dinners, and timeless romantic moments worldwide. Kenny G, smiling, returned the love. “I am happy to be here, too.”

Kenny G, aged 69, isn’t just a successful musician; he is a phenomenon. With a music career spanning over 50 years and 75 million albums sold, he is revered as the best-selling smooth jazz instrumentalist of all time.

Away from the spotlight, Kenny G is a golfer and a pilot. He flies his own plane, a De Havilland Beaver. Occasionally, he performs on planes, too, for charitable causes. Yet beneath the accolades and successes, he admits that even platinum records can’t smooth out life’s complexities.

On the night he performed in Nairobi, the Guinness World Record holder for the longest saxophone note at 46 minutes, held a note for eight minutes, leaving the room spellbound. Just a day before that electrifying two-and-a-half-hour set, I had sat with the man in his hotel room, where I taught him some Swahili words.

How do you keep it simple?

It starts with the body. I’m 69, but I still work out every day, including this morning, even though I landed in Nairobi last night at 10pm.

This has been my way of life for years. You have to be intentional. Exercise, watch what you eat…just take care of yourself. In the end, all these little things impact your quality of life. When you dress up, it reflects how well you take care of your body. For me, that’s always been important.

They say artistes are often inspired by their surroundings. I’m thinking a Nairobi track on the next Kenny G album would not be a bad idea…

Not yet. To write about Nairobi, I’d need more time here, time to really feel the city, its rhythm, maybe even fall in love with a Kenyan woman. Inspiration like that has to grow. I just got here.

At 69, what has life taught you?

To stay peaceful, no matter the situation. And patience, too. Life often feels too slow for me, but I’ve learned to be patient. Also, I have a lot of patience with people.

You could be yelling at me, and I’d stay calm, let you finish, and only then respond. Patience allows me to hold on to peace, even when life feels stressful.

Fame has been part of your life for decades. Was there ever a time you struggled with it?

I’ve never struggled with fame because I accepted it fully and embraced the way it came to me. Honestly, I don’t understand how some people struggle with it. It usually means they don’t have the right foundation.

They take themselves too seriously, thinking they are too important. That’s when you hear things like, ‘What do you mean there isn’t a table waiting for me?’ or ‘Why isn’t there a car waiting outside?’ For me, it’s never been that way.

You wouldn’t like to find a car waiting for you?

I like it, but I just don’t care about it. I have never felt the urge to feel too important. What for? I could walk into a room that isn’t ready yet, and it will not make me feel any less.

So, you can take a stroll on the streets without any fear?

Absolutely. I do my own grocery shopping, stand in line like everyone else, and even fill up my car at the gas station. I could have people do those things for me, but what’s the point? Did you see my entourage today? Zero, just me.

Others would have had an advance team come here first to check on things before they arrive. Such people may have trouble managing fame because it clogs their minds. They lose touch with themselves and with others. They stop being mindful. I’ve never wanted that.

But you have plenty of money, you could easily pay people to do those things for you…

Of course. I do have a nice life, but I’ve also dug ditches before, so I know what hard work feels like. The point is, no matter your position, you still need to be mindful. I understand that a lot more than most people in my position.

Do you harbour any regrets?

Yes. More than 18 years ago, back when I was still with Arista Records (the label he’d been signed to since 1982), I made a decision I regret to this day.

At the time, Whitney Houston and I were the label’s top two artistes, and everything felt right. But after several successful albums, Arista told me they didn’t want me to release more original music; they felt it wouldn’t sell.

They said things weren’t looking up for me anymore commercially. I pushed back because I wanted to keep creating original music. That led to friction, and eventually, I left. I wish we had found a way to make it work.

How costly was this mistake?

Very costly. I signed with another label, but they did not have Arista’s muscle. They had no global reach and no strong infrastructure. I hadn’t done enough research on them. At first, it looked like it would work, but when I released a record with them, I quickly realised they lacked manpower. They could not push the record in Africa or Asia or Europe, and even in cities in the US. They simply did not have the resources. That mistake cost me millions of dollars because my record sales dropped significantly.

Are you still signed to that record company?

No. I had signed a five–album deal, which I completed last year, and now I’m fully independent. I also parted ways with my management team. I have no manager, no publicist, no middleman.

I handle everything from negotiations, deals, performances, and interviews. Honestly, it’s been refreshing.

After years of going through layers of approval, I finally make the decisions myself and things move faster. For example, if you wanted to interview me before, you would have to call the agent, the agent calls the management, and then the manager calls me. And sometimes you would have to wait for approval from the management.

That would take quite a bit of time, and I couldn’t tell if the enquiries I got were really important or not because someone was making those decisions for me. Now, you reach out directly, and we get it done.

What do you remember most about Whitney Houston?

I first met Whitney in 1982. Clive Davis (Arista Records founder) had invited me out one evening while I was working on my debut album. He wanted me to hear this young singer who was Dionne Warwick’s cousin.

I thought she was the most amazing performer I had ever seen. Incredible voice, Incredible stage performance. I told Clive you should sign her, and he did.

Later, we toured together in 1987. I was her opening act. It was her first world tour. She was amazing to perform with. I also had the opportunity to play on a couple of her songs. Whitney was pure joy, fun, full of life, and an incredible person to be around.

I read somewhere that you don’t like dancing. I find that a little strange for a performer...

It is what it is, man. I don’t like dancing because it doesn’t have a right or a wrong way. Unlike music or golf, there’s no objective means of measuring dancing success.

And how do you measure your success?

There are many ways to look at it. If you play golf or music, you have to keep practicing to get better. There is an element of measurement.

When you put music out there and sell records, you can measure that. Investment is also a measure of success.

A lot of artistes don’t get to be out there as long as I have. It can end anytime, and you might just as well find yourself with nothing. In college, I studied accounting and gained the knack for common-sense budgeting.

I control expenses and prefer long-term investments. My first initial investment was in the 80s, from my musical earnings. I invested in Starbucks Coffee even though I knew so little about coffee.

I have also invested in Apple and Microsoft, and other ventures. I say to those in my position, be smart. Don’t think you’re bigger than you are, and don’t think it’ll last forever.

You are an inductee Living Legend of Aviation. How did you get here?

Flying has always been one of my greatest passions, alongside music. It all started with a friend, a bass player who loved flying and taking lessons. He invited me to try it out, so I enrolled.

That’s when I met this interesting instructor who got me excited about flying. More than 30 years later, here we are. I have logged over 3,400 hours of flight time in my de Havilland Beaver. And now my son shares the same passion and has been taking lessons from the same instructor. Crazy, isn’t it?

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