Brazilian Nights

Personnel: Walter Afanasieff (piano, synthesizer, drum programming, percussion programming).
Audio Mixer: Humberto Gatica.
Photographer: Chapman Baehler.
Arrangers: Kenny G; Walter Afanasieff.
So comfortable is the fit of Kenny G and Brazilian bossa nova that it's a wonder he didn't get around to a full-scale tribute until 2015. By waiting so long, the saxophonist perhaps sacrificed some production warmth -- there's a crispness to the presentation and certain instrumentation that is palpably digital -- but he's gained suppleness in his execution. Never known for aggressiveness, Kenny G nevertheless seems exceptionally laid-back here, easing into the nicely relaxed rhythms. At times, those rhythms feel a little buttoned-up for the intended mood -- they're precise, not sultry -- but that's where the saxophonist's decision to emphasize feel comes into play. There's never any indication that Brazilian Nights was intended as anything other than a bit of well-manicured romantic music and, on that level, it surely succeeds. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine