Kenny G has a way with melody. That’s not necessarily a revelation, but more like a huge understatement, and it really comes into focus at this point in Kenny’s amazing career. This is a musician who has sold more than 75 million albums worldwide, owns the best-selling instrumental record of all time with 1992’s 12-times-platinum Breathless, has the number one Christmas record of all time with 1994’s 8-times platinum Miracles.

“The problem that often happens when artists record songs with traditional melodies is that they put too many twists on things and they end up making them worse,” he says. “With lullabies, you don’t necessarily need to put much of a twist on them. You just do your thing and at the same time stay true to the melody. My thing is being able to look at a melody and understand how to play it. I’m very lucky that I have that sensibility when it comes to melody. I think that’s also why my Christmas records do so well, and why people tell me they listen to them all year long.”

For the last several years, Kenny has taken to the internet with gusto, as new generations of listeners have discovered his music and contemporary hitmakers such as The Weeknd and Jon Batiste have enlisted him for guest appearances on their albums. His posts have become memes and gone viral, as he continues to have fun with the whole idea of being his iconic self. And while the material from Innocence may not make much sense as part of Kenny’s live show (“unless I’m playing at a nursery school or a private gig at somebody’s house” he jokes), it’s most definitely not just an album for kids. (Although in Kenny’s words. “I’ve already given you the albums that have made the babies, now I give you the album that puts them to sleep!”)