Smooth-jazz saxophonist Kenny G has thrown some curveballs at his career in the past year.

He left his longtime label, Arista, so he could return to recording original compositions, resulting in a new Latin-themed CD, "Rhythm & Romance."

He's also played a handful of dates with symphony orchestras — including a sold-out pair this weekend with the Honolulu Symphony Pops — something he hadn't done much of earlier in his 26 years of performing.

We caught up with the 51-year-old Kenny G for an update on his music and how his 1987 investment in a fledgling coffee chain called Starbucks turned out.

Question: Your new album is the first dominated by original music in quite some time. Why the change in direction?

Answer: This one is pretty special to me because, for the past three or four years, I've been doing a lot of cover tunes, at the request of (Arista chief) Clive Davis. I knew when I started making this record that I needed to ... get back to what I used to do, which was write, record, produce like I felt it should be.

Q. You have some very talented Latin musicians on this project (including drummer Alex Acuna, guitarist Ramon Stagnaro, percussionist Paulino Da Costa and vocals by Camila and Barbara Munoz).

A. It was a group of the best Latin players in town, and "in town" in L.A. means pretty much "in the world." They were amazing. We had these guys in the studio playing my melodies, their rhythm underneath it, and it was a nice blend.

Q. Did you record spontaneously or did you map out the arrangements?

A. It takes about three or four hours of working on the arrangement together just to see where we are. Once we know what we're going to do, then five minutes later, the song is done.

Q. Have you explored Latin music much over the years, or was this the first chance to really sink your teeth into it?

A. I've dabbled in it every now and then. One of my tunes, "Havana," on a previous album (1996's "The Moment"), was Latin-flavored, but I never did a whole album of it.

Q. What does playing with an orchestra offer that you don't get in other settings?

A. It adds this layer to the music that you don't get with synthesizer strings. ... I enjoy playing what we do and listening to the classical players. Every individual in that orchestra has spent their whole life playing that instrument and becoming a virtuoso on it.

Q. Did you have any classical instruction as a young player?

A. No, I never did. I just did my own thing, practiced my own scales. Little by little, I got better and better.

Q. Did you listen to classical music as a youngster?

A. No, I never really thought about it too much. Music is music, and I like listening to classical music now. I like concertos when there's an instrument like a flute or a clarinet or a violin featured.

Q. Which songs from your catalog are best suited for orchestral treatment?

A. "Songbird" (a No. 3 adult-contemporary hit) works really well. One of the songs from the new record is called "Sabor a Mi," and that's going to work great.

Q. Your CD is being released by Starbucks Entertainment and Concord Records. You were one of the first investors in the Starbucks chain. That must have worked out well.

A. I got lucky. I got some good advice from my uncle, who was one of the very first investors. I was probably the sixth or seventh (in 1987). I met (Starbucks president) Howard Schultz and thought, "This guy is going to be a winner. I don't know anything about coffee ... but whatever he does, I bet he's going to be successful."