R S V P / ORANGE COUNTY : Kenny G Casts a ‘Silhouette’ on CF Guild Gala

It was the next best thing to having Kenny G perform live in your living room; the saxophone player with the long curly hair gave an intimate concert for guests at the Cystic Fibrosis Guild of Orange County’s 11th annual gala.

Strolling among the tables in the grand ballroom of the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, Kenny G serenaded the crowd of 500 with his saxophone like a modern-day Pied Piper.

The $250-per-person benefit netted about $275,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Low-Key Performance

With little fanfare, Kenny G began his performance by simply walking out from the back of the ballroom and strolling up to the stage while playing his signature song “Silhouette.”

“We’re making up arrangements as we go along,” he later joked.

Amid a backdrop of electronic fireworks (leave it to Disney), Kenny G formed “Songbird,” “Sentimental” and “Forever in Love.”

He closed the concert by slowly circling the entire ballroom while blowing his horn--making sure all guests got a close-up view.

Landing Kenny G was a coup for the guild. The sax player had participated in an American Airlines celebrity ski weekend for the national Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in 1992, where he auctioned himself to play in someone’s home.

Gala chairwoman Sue Hook and her husband Dave ponied up the $25,000 for his performance, then asked if he and Michael Bolton (who had also auctioned off his services) would play at the guild gala.

“We thought this woman was just having a party at her home,” Kenny G said.

This year he volunteered to perform at the gala again. At a champagne reception held before the concert, he explained why he supports the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

“I kind of fell into doing this. I didn’t know anybody who had cystic fibrosis,” he said.

Then he was invited to the foundation’s ski weekend: “The people were so nice; I never met people like that before,” he said. “I wanted to be part of this group.”

G Is for Great

“My last name is Gorelick,” he said. Asked why he dropped his full name, he quipped, “It’s obvious, isn’t it?”

For Kenny G fans, it was a night to remember: “He’s the most humble, thoughtful person; we’re in awe over how wonderful he is,” said Karen Hall, event co-chairwoman. “His involvement with (the foundation) is so special. It’s created a whole new forum of interest in our community.”

Guests enjoyed the concert at tables draped in white and gold striped cloth with white and gold floral centerpieces. For dinner, they were served a “Kenny G soup” (cream of artichoke en croute with a “G” inscribed on the crust), beef filet and sea bass stuffed with spinach and for dessert a caramelized apple in a puff pastry shell or a chocolate tulip filled with fresh fruit.

Proceeds from the gala will go to researching a cure for cystic fibrosis, the most common fatal genetic disease in the United States that affects 30,000 infants, children and young adults. In cystic fibrosis, a thick mucous clogs the lungs, causing breathing difficulties, repeated infection, lung damage and eventual suffocation.

Frank Intiso, president of Falcon Cable TV, was presented with the guild’s Breath of Life award for raising $1 million for the foundation.

Many guests had personal reasons for supporting the foundation: “We had two sons who died of leukemia. What they went through was very similar to what CF kids have gone through,” said Ralph Mann, a gala sponsor. He and wife Eva have attended the galas for years.

“We’re going to have one heck of a party when they find a cure,” Eva said.

Other faces in the crowd were: Dean Gerrie, event co-chairman; Frank and Betty Arciero, Allen and Barbara Balik, Robert Bein, David and Leann Benvenuti, Michael and Jacquie Casey, Steve and Gere Gastineau, Bob and Charlene Goetz, Barry and Jan Grumman, Barry and Pati Gump, Brian and Gloria Hale, Marion and Lula Halfacre, Debbie Hartunian, Helen Johnson, Dick and Sue Ellen Knieper, Bill and Jackie Lilly, Heidi Miller, Bob and Nancy Myers, Barry and Myra Ross, Michael Rudencia, Rene and Anna Vega and Kevin and Sophia Woodbridge.