Although we haven’t seen the film yet, it looks like Penny Lane’s documentary “Listening To Kenny G” is yet another hit for the biggest selling instrumentalist of all time. Right now it sits at a 94% on Rotton Tomatoes and has earned several positive critical reviews after debutting at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
This time, the acclaim really goes to penny Lane, who didn’t just tell Kenny’s life story, but actually delved into why he became so popular and yet almost simultaneously became a punch line to, what I call, the ‘jazz police’. Penny digs into every aspect of Kenny’s career, including his relationship with smooth jazz radio. The critics who have seen it have referred to the documentary as ‘enjoyable’ and ‘riotously entertaining’.
“Listening To Kenny G” airs on HBO and HBO Max December 3, 2021.