A dirty job, but....

Making fun of Buffalo News columnist Mary Kunz Goldman is a popular pasttime here in the Buffalo Prefecture of Blogistan, and I figure that it's my turn to do the deed. MKG tends to be readable when she writes about classical music, and only classical music. (She's the current News classical music reviewer.)

Here is the text of her review from this past Sunday's paper. The item being reviewed? Not a classical recording, but...a two-disc set called The Essential Kenny G.

Just the idea that Kenny G is essential is enough to make anyone take a second look at this two-CD set, which includes such Kenny G benchmark recordings as "Songbird," the theme from the Campbell Scott movie "Dying Young," and "My Heart Will Go On" from "Titanic."

Love him or hate him, Kenny G is the mellow man of our era. An embarrassing number of guests on Macy Favor's "Jazz Favorites Hour" have sheepishly ended their list of favorite tracks with "a little something by Kenny G." When Kenny G played the Arena, he had people screaming. And remember that horrifying Sabres game when Clint "The Throat Man" Malarchuk got cut with the skate blade? They put Kenny G on the sound system, and everyone felt better.

Kenny G turns 50 this year, and this set celebrates his legacy. (Shut up. He does have a legacy, whether or not you want him to.) Guest artists include Michael Bolton, Peabo Bryson and Earth, Wind and Fire. Don't fight it. Embrace it. Feel better.

Kenny G's musical legacy is roughly analogous to the rice cake's culinary legacy.