Since that Christmas, other people have had Kenny G moments, as well. So, in a sense, only the first Kenny G moment was a Kenny G moment, even though we never quite know what gift will make our mom cry.

The defining element of a Kenny G moment, however, was the defining element of that first gift, which is that the reaction is unexpected. We have succeeded with Josh Groban CDs, Paul McCartney concert tickets, and even Snoopy inside of a snow globe writing, 'It was a dark and stormy night' (damn squirrel got in our house and broke the globe-true story!-and I have yet to find that object being sold for a REASONABLE PRICE-yeah, I'm talking to you, ebay scalpers!). Thus was born the Kenny G moment.Įvery Christmas since then, my dad (and others in my family, including me) have tried to find a gift that will create that Kenny G moment. So, when she opened the gift and saw that she was now the proud owner of a crappy instrumental album by a guy with hair longer than hers, she started crying. That Christmas, my dad bought my mom that CD, not knowing that she really wanted it. Apparently it left women breathless, as it is still the most popular instrumental album ever released, proving that artistic integrity has nothing to do with sales. The original Kenny G moment dates back to 1992 or 1993, when his album Breathless came out. Well, okay, it's better than soft rock, but only because nothing is worse than soft rock. He is also a great person to mock, since he plays smooth jazz, which is the jazz world's equivalent of soft rock.

He's in the Guiness Book of World Records for the longest note ever held (see his Wikipedia article here, which includes mention of that feat), and he has really long hair. Kenny G is a famous soprano saxophone player who has sold millions of albums worldwide. Since my mom just went to a Kenny G concert, and since Christmas is approaching, I thought now was a good time to write about a family tradition known as the 'Kenny G Moment.'

Kenny g breathless album credits