When you think of “smooth jazz,” that ultra-polished genre you hear in elevators and waiting rooms, you’re probably thinking of Kenny G. Born Kenneth Gorelick, the soprano saxophonist is famous for recording gentle, Vaseline-smooth jazz, with twinkly synths and honeyed melodies. Like most great music, the songs of Kenny G take you to another place — in his case, a dentist’s chair, where you are receiving a heroic dose of novocaine. He’s very popular in China, where his song “Going Home” is routinely played on PA systems to mark the end of the work day; he’s significantly less popular among jazzheads, many of whom will go from zero to J.K. Simmons in “Whiplash” at the mere mention of his name.
But even if you’ve never heard a lick of his music, you may know one of his other contributions to the world: the Starbucks’ famous Frappuccino. You heard that right! Starbucks’ frozen, “handcrafted” coffee concoction was ushered into existence, at least in part, by the guy who showed up to play the sax solo in Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” video. (Don’t get too excited — that’s not him in the actual song.)
Kenny G suggested adding a milkshake-like drink to the menu
When you think of great musical artists from the state of Washington, like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, or Sleater-Kinney, one that might not necessarily spring to mind is Kenny G. But the smooth jazz scion is from Seattle, and one day, his uncle introduced him to Howard Schultz, who had just founded Starbucks. As such, Kenny G became an early investor in the franchise, igniting a passion for stock trading that continues to this day.
Although it wasn’t the only time Starbucks had to deal with stiff competition, another coffee company in the area, Coffee Bean, sold a cold, sweet blended drink, which became very popular. At that time, Starbucks only sold coffee, but Kenny G decided to ring up Schultz to tell him they needed a milkshake-like drink of their own. While Kenny G never claimed to invent the drink, he did tell Bloomberg that he believed his calls encouraged Schultz to introduce the Frappuccino — a statement Starbucks itself seemed to agree with, saying that he did, in fact, “provide feedback on the creation of the Frappuccino.” Now, there’s a fact that leaves us “Breathless.”
