POP MUSIC REVIEW : Kenny G Plays the Crowd and Sax With Equal Ease

If the recent house fire suffered by saxophonist Kenny G had any effect on his mood, it didn’t show on Saturday at the Universal Amphitheatre. G played his usual good-spirited set while broadcasting plenty of smiles and hand waves to an adoring, sold-out audience.

In fact, his upbeat, nearly two-hour show closely resembled his last few performances here, from the songs he played right down to the acoustic session and the single, unchanging tone that went on for over two minutes. Only the addition of such seasonal material as “White Christmas” and “Auld Lang Syne,” made dramatic by the presence of a 30-piece string section, offered something different.

That predictable dependability is part of G’s attraction. Much like an old Hollywood tear-jerker, his music touches familiar, though shallow, emotions in ways guaranteed to move the listener every time. Repetition only makes its effect stronger.

G’s original pop ballads are based on attractive, major-key theme lines that on Saturday were repeated over and over with only minor embellishments. When G did wander into improvisational territory, the themes remained as touchstones to which he returned like an old friend.

During the “unplugged” set, G dropped in lines from “Nature Boy” and “Theme From the Summer of ‘42” to show he was just as hip as any jazzman. He played tenor and alto saxophones in addition to soprano, all with a surprisingly similar tone. His long, long series of improvised lines, played as he paraded through the audience, skillfully managed to avoid any trace of soul.

If the audience found this predictability discouraging, it didn’t show it. Instead, G was showered with calls of “We love you Kenny,” to which he usually responded by stopping his play and breaking into a big smile, a ploy that resulted in laughs and applause. The saxophone may be G’s instrument of choice, but he knows how to play a crowd just as well.