A Night of Mostly G Flat and B Sharp

Say this for Kenny G: Although his music may lack gumption and daring, the man himself doesn’t. He may go down in pop annals as the last person ever to risk following Toni Braxton’s act.

The saccharine sax of G (for Gorelick) was mostly filler compared to the superb singing and vibrant personality of B on Saturday as their co-headlining tour pulled into the Pond of Anaheim.

As usual, G stood for “gosh, ain’t that pretty.” A mellow, sugary lyricism is the beginning and end of his appeal. Never underestimate the appeal of aural Twinkies, though: G’s bankers certainly don’t. His 10-year string of hit albums ranks him as the best-selling instrumental act of all time.

Credit him with setting modest goals and meeting them. He successfully caters to people’s most sentimental fantasies of what life might afford if it were all candlelight dinners and blue-skied, zephyr-kissed days at the beach.

But that doesn’t make it interesting as art. Critics don’t like Kenny G because they value creativity that reflects upon humanity’s up-and-down actual lot. Only two humans ever experienced paradise, and not for long. Maybe not as long, in fact, as G’s profuse noodling in two interminable strolls through the crowd that padded an overlong set highlighted by a guest turn from audience member Smokey Robinson.

Braxton, a young lioness of pop-R&B; who is batting two for two in turning albums into hits, offered the emotional complexity that Kenny G was missing. A fundamentally joyful performer with a winning glint in her eye, she nevertheless has an actor’s knack for putting on a poised and somber face and blanketing herself in romantic agony.

She didn’t have to get by on personality--her voice was the main ingredient in this gourmet pop recipe. She could invest her rangy, effortlessly powerful alto with low-down grit, send it soaring in graceful upward spirals, or harness her suppleness and force to pull off breathy-diva turns that would have seemed contrived in lesser hands, but came off as high drama in hers.

She also has an endearing way of letting out whoops of delight--even in the yearning numbers--that signal her sheer pleasure in singing.

Her songs, supplied by such mainstream pop Midases as Babyface and Diane Warren, serve as attractive if formulaic vehicles. Braxton made them go, but one wondered what she could do given wheels as good as those Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick had at their peaks.

Judging from her strong reception, Braxton’s strategy of seeking new fans in Kenny G’s middle-of-the-road neighborhood is a savvy one. But a performer this engaging, with a voice that strong, is apt to make friends wherever she sings.

* Kenny G and Toni Braxton appear Friday through Dec. 30 at the Universal Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, 8:15 p.m. $38-$78. (818) 622-4440.