Duotones

1986 studio album by Kenny G

Duotones

Studio album by

Kenny G

Released

September 29, 1986 (1986-09-29)

Recorded

1985–1986

Studio

Tarpan Studios (San Rafael, California); Studio G (Seattle, Washington)

Genre

Smooth jazz
jazz-funk

Length

46:54

Label

Arista

Producer

Kenny G
Narada Michael Walden
Preston Glass

Kenny G chronology

Gravity
(1985)

Duotones
(1986)

Silhouette
(1988)

Singles from Duotones

"Don't Make Me Wait for Love"
Released: August 10, 1986
"Songbird"
Released: March 1987

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]

Duotones is the fourth studio album by American saxophonist Kenny G, released on September 29, 1986 by Arista Records. It features one of Kenny G's best-known songs, "Songbird", which reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100.

The album peaked at number one on the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, number five on the Jazz Albums chart, number six on the Billboard 200 and number eight on the R&B Albums chart.^[2] The album was later certified 5× Platinum by the RIAA.^[3]

Track listing

CD track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocal(s)	Length
1.	"Songbird"	Kenny G		5:03
2.	"Midnight Motion"	Kenny G		4:08
3.	"Don't Make Me Wait for Love"	Walter Afanasieff, Preston Glass, Narada Michael Walden	Lenny Williams	4:05
4.	"Sade"	Kenny G		4:20
5.	"Champagne"	Kenny G, Kenny McDougald		4:45
6.	"What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)"	Johnny Bristol, Vernon Bullock, Harvey Fuqua	Ellis Hall	4:06
7.	"Slip of the Tongue"	Preston Glass, Narada Michael Walden, Lloyd Pianka		4:53
8.	"Three of a Kind"	Kenny G, Preston Glass, Narada Michael Walden, Lloyd Pianka		4:46
9.	"Esther"	Kenny G, Lloyd Pianka		5:24
10.	"You Make Me Believe"	Walter Afanasieff, Kenny G, Preston Glass, Narada Michael Walden	Claytoven Richardson	5:19
Total length:				47:40

An alternate track listing of this album also exists.^[4] It includes a slightly altered track order. In addition, this version includes slightly longer versions of "Don't Make Me Wait For Love" and "What Does it Take (To Win Your Love)" and adds an extra track: "And You Know That". The track listing is as follows:

CD version 2 track listing
No.	Title	Length
1.	"What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)"	5:00
2.	"Midnight Motion"	4:08
3.	"Don't Make Me Wait for Love"	4:46
4.	"Sade"	4:20
5.	"Champagne"	4:45
6.	"And You Know That"	4:45
7.	"Slip of the Tongue"	4:53
8.	"You Make Me Believe"	5:19
9.	"Songbird"	5:03
10.	"Three of a Kind"	4:45
11.	"Esther"	5:25
Total length:		53:09

Personnel

Musicians

Kenny G – soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones, keyboards, synth bass, drum machine, backing vocals, all instruments (9), EWI controller (violins) (9)
Walter Afanasieff – keyboards, synth bass
Preston Glass – keyboards, drum machine, wind chimes (1), backing vocals
Roger Sause – keyboards
Alan Glass – guitars
John Raymond – guitars
Corrado Rustici – guitars
Randy Jackson – bass guitar, synth bass
Cory Lerios – synth bass, drum machine
Joe Plass – bass guitar
Gigi Gonaway – drums, percussion
Kenny McDougald – drums
Tony Gable – percussion
Sal Gallina – EWI controller (string sounds, violins and French horns) (3)
Kitty Beethoven – backing vocals
Gina Glass – backing vocals
Yolanda Glass – backing vocals
Claytoven Richardson – backing vocals
Lenny Williams – backing vocals

Production

Produced by Preston Glass
Executive producer – Narada Michael Walden
Co-producer on tracks 1, 2, 4 and 9 – Kenny G
Engineered by Gordon Lyon
Assistant engineers – Kay Arbuckle, Stuart Hirotsu, Matt Rohr and Jim Weyeneth
Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York City, New York)
Art direction and design – Kevin K. Takishita
Photography – Steven Rothfield
Styling – Kurt DeMunbrun

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for *Duotones*
Chart (1986–1988)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[5]	28
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[6]	11
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[7]	23
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[8]	21
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[9]	20
UK Albums (OCC)^[10]	28
US Billboard 200^[11]	6
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[12]	8

Year-end charts

1987 year-end chart performance for *Duotones*
Chart (1987)	Position
US Billboard 200^[13]	15
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[14]	6

1988 year-end chart performance for *Duotones*
Chart (1988)	Position
US Billboard 200^[15]	59
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[16]	60

Certifications

Certifications for *Duotones*
Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)^[17]	Platinum	100,000^{^}
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)^[18]	Gold	10,000^*
United States (RIAA)^[19]	5× Platinum	5,000,000^{^}
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ "Duotones - Kenny G - Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
^ "Charts & Awards". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
^ "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". Riaa.com. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
^ "Kenny G (2) - Duotones". Discogs. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
^ "Australiancharts.com – Kenny G – Duotones". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
^ "Austriancharts.at – Kenny G – Duotones" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Kenny G – Duotones" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Kenny G – Duotones" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
^ "Charts.nz – Kenny G – Duotones". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
^ "Kenny G | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
^ "Kenny G Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
^ "Kenny G Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1987". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1987". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1988". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1988". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
^ "Canadian album certifications – Kenny G – Duotones". Music Canada. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
^ "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1990". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
^ "American album certifications – Kenny G – Duotones". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 3, 2019.