Duotones

Not to be confused with Duotone, a generic term for multitone printing.

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
"Songbird" Released: March 1987 "Don't Make Me Wait for Love" Released: August 1987 [1]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]

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. ^[3] The album was later certified 5× Platinum by the RIAA. ^[4]

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. ^[5] 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 – all 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

• Narada Michael Walden – executive producer
• Preston Glass – producer
• Kenny G – co-producer (1, 2, 4, 9)
• Gordon Lyon – chief engineer
• Kay Arbuckle – assistant engineer
• Stuart Hirotsu – assistant engineer
• Matt Rohr – assistant engineer
• Jim Weyeneth – assistant engineer
• Ted Jensen – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York City, New York)
• Kevin K. Takishita – art direction, design
• Steven Rothfield – photography
• Kurt DeMunbrun – styling
• Fritz/Turner Management – management

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance Chart (1986–1988) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA) [6] 28 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [7] 11 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [8] 23 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [9] 21 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [10] 20 UK Albums (OCC) [11] 28 US Billboard 200 [12] 6 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [13] 8

Year-end charts 1987 year-end chart performance Chart (1987) Position US Billboard 200 [14] 15 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [15] 6 1988 year-end chart performance Chart (1988) Position US Billboard 200 [16] 59 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [17] 60

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [18]	Platinum	100,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong) [19]	Gold	10,000*
Malaysia	—	11,000 [20]
United States (RIAA) [21]	5× Platinum	5,000,000^
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. https://www.45cat.com/record/as19625
2. "Duotones - Kenny G - Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved January 24, 2019.
3. "Charts & Awards". AllMusic . Rovi Corporation . Retrieved September 23, 2010.
4. "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". Riaa.com. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
5. "Kenny G (2) - Duotones". Discogs. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
6. "Australiancharts.com – Kenny G – Duotones". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
7. "Austriancharts.at – Kenny G – Duotones" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
8. "Dutchcharts.nl – Kenny G – Duotones" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
9. "Offiziellecharts.de – Kenny G – Duotones" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
10. "Charts.nz – Kenny G – Duotones". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
11. "Kenny G | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
12. "Kenny G Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
13. "Kenny G Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
14. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1987". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
15. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1987". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
16. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1988". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
17. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1988". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
18. "Canadian album certifications – Kenny G – Duotones". Music Canada . Retrieved October 3, 2019.
19. "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1990". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
20. Murthi, R.S. (November 29, 1988). "Sale of international music releases up". New Straits Times. p. 20. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
21. "American album certifications – Kenny G – Duotones". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved October 3, 2019.