Listening to Kenny G is a 2021 American documentary film, directed by Penny Lane. It is about the jazz musician Kenny G.

Listening to Kenny G
Promotional release poster
Directed byPenny Lane
Produced byGabriel Sedgwick
Starring
CinematographyNaiti Gámez
Edited by
  • Adam Bolt
  • Cindy Lee
Music byCharlie Rosen
Production
companies
Distributed byHBO
Release dates
  • September 11, 2021 (2021-09-11) (TIFF)
  • December 2, 2021 (2021-12-02) (HBO)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Production

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Initially, Bill Simmons, the creator of HBO’s Music Box series, invited Penny Lane to make a music documentary. Lane chose Kenny G as the subject of the film because he is "a musician who is objectively popular, by way of record sales, but is also hated by the 'critical class'." Kenny G himself had no control of the content of the film.[1]

Release

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Listening to Kenny G premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival.[2] The film screened at the Hamptons International Film Festival.[3] It aired on HBO as part of Bill Simmons' Music Box anthology.[4][5] It debuted on December 2, 2021 on HBO and was also available to stream on HBO Max.[6] It was screened as the opening night film at DOC NYC 2021.[7] It was released on December 11, 2021 on Binge in Australia.[8]

Reception

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The New Yorker listed Listening to Kenny G as one of the best films of 2021.[9] Richard Brody of The New Yorker wrote, "By listening attentively to Kenny G, Lane delivers, in a buoyant, amiable way, a ferocious denunciation, one in which she herself doesn't voice a negative word—because he does most of the inadvertent, unconscious damning."[10]

Glenn Kenny of The New York Times wrote, "The movie's animating question is why a musician who has brought an abundance of pleasure to so many listeners makes so many others almost incoherently angry. Some interviewees, including Kenny G himself, imply that judgments against his work are de facto judgments of the people who love it. That's a specious conclusion, one which the movie could have unpacked better."[11]

References

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  1. ^ Morfoot, Addie (2021-09-11). "Penny Lane Tunes Up 'Listening to Kenny G' Doc at Toronto Festival". Variety.
  2. ^ Morfoot, Addie (2021-09-08). "Toronto's Scaled-Down Slate Features Documentaries on Devastating Fires, a Prison Uprising and Kenny G". Variety. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  3. ^ "Release info Listening to Kenny G". IMBD. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  4. ^ Blauvelt, Christian (2021-09-12). "'Listening to Kenny G' Review: Penny Lane Can Challenge Conventional Wisdom Better Than Anyone". IndieWire. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  5. ^ Fienberg, Daniel (2021-09-12). "HBO's 'Listening to Kenny G': TV Review | TIFF 2021". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  6. ^ "HBO Documentary LISTENING TO KENNY G, A Portrait Of One Of The Most Beloved And Reviled Figures In Jazz, Debuts December 2". Warner Media. 2021-11-02.
  7. ^ "Listening to Kenny G". DOC NYC.
  8. ^ "Airdate: Listening to Kenny G". TV Tonight. November 29, 2021.
  9. ^ "The Best Movies of 2021". The New Yorker. 2021-12-02.
  10. ^ "Listening to Kenny G" Is an Ironic Masterpiece". The New Yorker. 2021-12-04. Archived from the original on 2021-12-06.
  11. ^ "'Listening to Kenny G' Review: Good Sax?". The New York Times. 2021-12-02. Archived from the original on 2021-12-06.
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