Roaring on the river
Kenny G brings his magic sax to Bangkok's best-loved jazz festival
Warm applause and cheers greeted perennial Thai favourite Kenny G as he took the stage last Sunday night for his sixth concert in the Kingdom.
This time the American jazz saxophonist was in town for the 2014 edition of the River Jazz Festival, which drew an estimated crowd of 3,000 music fans to Asiatique and saw everyone admiring the setting next to a large Ferris wheel and enjoying the refreshing breeze off the Chao Phraya River.
Thai pop icons ETC warmed up the audience with a show that included such hits as “Nang Fah”, “Sing Mi Chewit Thi Riek Wa Huajai” and “Rak Krang Diew”.
The Grammy Award-winning musician, whose real name is Kenneth Bruce Gorelick, held the attention of the audience from the very first instrumental, walking through the crowd while playing “Home”.
He followed by a holding a single note on his flute for longer than one minute and won hearts by speaking to the audience in Thai with a fluency that went far beyond the usual “khob khun krab” (“thank you”).
He was backed by a five-man band consisting of Robert Damper on the piano, Daniel Bejarano (drums), Ron Powell (percussion), John Raymond (guitar) and Vail Johnson (bass).
Together they played more than a dozen songs from many of Kenny G’s past albums including “Sentimental”, “Forever In Love”, “Silhouette”, “Songbird”, “Heart and Soul”, “Desafinado”, “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”, and “My Heart Will Go On” from the movie “Titanic”.
In addition to solos by every one of the band members, Powell the percussionist had fun with the audience, challenging them to copy how he was playing his tambourine by clapping their hands.
The concert’s only vocal number “What a Wonderful World” was performed by young Thai singer Maneepatsorn “Myra” Molloy, who was just 13 when she won the 2011 edition of TV talent show “Thailand's Got Talent”. Kenny G on the flute looked suitably impressed. “We just providing the back-up,” he said.
Myra mesmerised the audience with her sweet and enchanting voice. At the end of her performance, she was offered a “high five” by Kenny G, who described her as “sweet and so cute”.
A long queue formed more than half an hour before the concert ended, as fans eagerly awaited the saxophonist to individually autograph his CDs.
He wrapped the concert by expressing the hope that he and the band would be back for next year’s event, a wish that was echoed by his thousands of fans through cheers and applause.
