Kenny G took a detour on 2008’s Rhythm & Romance, crafting a full-fledged Latin dance album, but he returns to basics on its 2010 sequel, Heart & Soul, his first collection of new pop-oriented material since 2002’s Paradise. Like that album, Heart & Soul is largely a collaboration with Kenny’s longtime producer Walter Afanasieff, and that’s not the only familiar name here, either: Babyface sits in for a song, just like he did on 1996’s The Moment. There are plenty of familiar sounds and grooves peppered throughout Heart & Soul -- his soprano sax always stays in its sweet spot, the synthesized funk rhythms keep things tight while the glaze of electric pianos keep things smooth, the melodies of the songs threaten to turn into covers but never go all the way -- but familiarity is the point of this album. It’s not meant to challenge, it’s meant to soothe, and it performs that task admirably.
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