Mainstream jazz fans love to beat up on Kenny G. On his new Pro Tools and programmed CD, “At Last . . . The Duets Album,” the saxist safely plays the smooth and R&B jazz cards with a pack of collaborators, including such heavy hitters as saxophonist David Sanborn, pianist David Benoit (who is wasted on a humdrum, straight instrumental take on Jesse Harris’ “Don’t Know Why”), and a roll call of class-A singers, including Chaka Khan, LeAnn Rimes and Gladys Knight. They all enter G’s melody-mesmerized Stepford jazz world—edgeless, lightweight, snoozy—with the result being fine wallpaper jazz best piped into suburban malls. Plus, G’s solo bleats and ornamental frills sound the same from song to song. Two bright spots: “At Last” with trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and, remarkably, “The Music That Makes Me Dance” with Barbra Streisand.—DO
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