Kenny G Similar Artists

Dave Koz - 100% match to Kenny G

Los Angeles, California, USA. Saxophonist Dave Koz is one of a small number of modern jazz players to have found significant contemporary success without necessarily obtaining critical approval for their efforts. His repertoire, like that of both Kenny G. and Najee, incorporates instrumental treatments of familiar pop fare, as well as extended solo spots. His technique may n Read more

David Benoit - 86% match to Kenny G

Bakersfield, California, USA. Benoit gained an early appreciation of music from his parents, who played guitar and piano. He began piano lessons at the age of 14, by which time he was steeped in the influences of both Ramsey Lewis and Henry Mancini. Following his musical studies at El Camino College, he met with composer Richard Baskin and played piano on the movie soundtra Read more

David Sanborn - 59% match to Kenny G

30 July 1945, Tampa, Florida, USA. Sanborn’s virtuosity has now spanned four decades, taking him from being a band member (with the seminal Paul Butterfield) to a leading session player for artists such as David Bowie, James Taylor and Stevie Wonder. His is the alto saxophone solo on Bowie’s ‘Young Americans’. He grew up in St. Louis and played with some Read more

Acoustic Alchemy - 58% match to Kenny G

Formed in 1981, Acoustic Alchemy first found acclaim as the vehicle for Greg Carmichael (1 January 1953, London, England; nylon string guitar) and Nick Webb (b. Nicholas Webb, 1954, Manchester, Lancashire, England, d. 5 February 1998; steel string guitar). The duo’s blend of instrumental music was neither jazz nor pop, but contained elements of both, together with flame Read more

Boney James - 58% match to Kenny G

James Oppenheim, 1 September 1961, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA. Raised in New Rochelle, New York, Boney James played clarinet at school, then the tenor saxophone and later the alto and soprano. His early musical tastes leaned towards contemporary pop, fusion and rock, including Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind And Fire and Grover Washington Jnr. His family moved to Los Angeles in 1 Read more

David Foster - 53% match to Kenny G

Peter White - 53% match to Kenny G

Fourplay - 49% match to Kenny G

A group which has earned consistent critical praise for its blend of pop and contemporary jazz, Fourplay was formed by Bob James (25 December 1939, Marshall, Missouri, USA; keyboards), Lee Ritenour (b. 1 November 1953, Los Angeles, California, USA; guitar), Nathan East (bass) and Harvey Mason (b. 22 February 1947, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA; drums). Since forming in the Read more

Earl Klugh - 48% match to Kenny G

16 September 1953, Detroit, Michigan, USA. Jazz guitarist Klugh has an unorthodox style in that when he sits down he rests the guitar on his right knee instead of the left. After studying piano and nylon string guitar as a child, Klugh settled on the latter instrument. While still in his mid-teens he recorded with Yusef Lateef and George Benson, with whom he also toured. He Read more

Richard Elliot - 46% match to Kenny G

Glasgow, Scotland, but raised in Los Angeles, California, USA. It was perhaps inevitable, for a musician growing up in the 60s and early 70s, that Elliot’s early taste would range through Motown Records and rock. However, he was also indelibly impressed by R&B. As a tenor saxophonist he found much that appealed to him in this form but he was also aware of jazz, in p Read more

Chris Botti - 44% match to Kenny G

Christopher Botti, 12 October 1962, Portland, Oregon, USA. Botti began playing trumpet at the age of 10 and within a few years was working professionally, mostly in the current pop music scene. He attended Indiana University, studying on David Baker’s jazz course and with bass player Dave Friesen, and thus moving towards jazz. After graduation, he moved to New York City Read more

Keiko Matsui - 44% match to Kenny G

Tokyo, Japan. Multi-faceted smooth jazz artist, Matsui released her eighth album, Dream Walk, in 1997, by which time she had established a strong following, despite limited commercial success. After its release she toured the USA in support of the YME organization, set up to promote breast cancer awareness and provide support and information for breast cancer victims and the Read more

Kirk Whalum - 44% match to Kenny G

11 July 1958, Memphis, Tennessee, USA. An accomplished tenor saxophonist, from the mid-80s onwards Whalum has found a lucrative niche playing smooth jazz. Raised in Memphis, he began playing in his father’s church choir before graduating to jazz during high school. He formed his own band while studying at Texas Southern University in Houston, and received his first brea Read more

Brian Culbertson - 42% match to Kenny G

12 January 1973, Decatur, Illinois, USA. Encouraged by his father, Jim Culbertson, a music teacher and trumpet player, Brian began his formal musical education at an early age. At eight he studied piano, then drums, followed by trombone and finally, four years after beginning his studies, the bass. His first musical listening was to contemporary big bands and small jazz grou Read more

Euge Groove - 41% match to Kenny G

Steven Eugene Grove, 27 November 1962, Hagerstown, Maryland, USA. Grove studied piano before taking saxophone studies while at high school. At the University of Miami, he gradually developed an interest in jazz. Gigging locally, he played in the All American College Band at Disney World, Orlando. Graduating in 1984, he played in local bands while on a masters degree course i Read more