Smooth jazz

The smooth jazz is an alternative very accessible from the Jazz, using soft sonorities (smooth: soft, smoothes in English), often with a side Jam of the jazz and the influences of music Soul, Funk and pop.

The smooth jazz can be instrumental or sung, the instrumentation is very close to the jazz: rhythmic made up of a battery, a low electric, various Synthetizer S, and one or more instruments soloists. The solo is held most of the time by a Guitare, but also by Saxophone S, Flûte S, Piano S or Rhodos. The use of the Synthétiseur S gives an aspect a little retro 1980 ' S to the sound.

History

This current, born from the meeting enters the Jazz and other elements such as the Funk, the Soul and the pop, fits completely in the evolution of the jazz-fusion. One can even consider that the smooth jazz is with the jazz-fusion what the Cool jazz was with the traditional jazz.

It is called sometimes " Rhythm & Jazz" (a term employed well before the appearance of the word Smooth Jazz ), " Jazz-Pop" or " NAC" (" New Adult Contemporary") for its strong potential of " crossover ", which amounts saying that this music often tends to attract with a public neophyte as regards Jazz, which comes rather from the mediums pop, Rock or R&B. What account is more the melodies, the involving rate/rhythm, and the facility of listening. The term of smooth jazz is often employed to indicate very varied styles, and does not reflect a well defined kind precisely.

One owes the first steps of this music with artists such as Wes Montgomery during his years A&M Records (with being known of the albums of resumptions of successes pop recorded with sections of cords) or Lonnie Liston Smith, and especially with the prestigious label CTI Records, who brought the jazz to a very new public. The majority of the artists pioneers of the kind proposed a style strongly marked by the musics Afro-Americans, such as the Soul and the Funk. On this subject, the American emission " Calm The Storm " of the first to diffuse smooth jazz in 1976 was one, which was then regarded as the leaning instrumental one of the music Quiet Storm, popularized by artists like Smokey Robinson or Luther Vandross.

Then with the passing of years, the smooth jazz sought to conquer a whiter public, by proposing sonorities very pop even sometimes New Age. Kenny G is undoubtedly the artist most representative of this turning. Its success without equal ( NB: it makes to party of the 25 artists more the salesmen of all times to the the United States, all categories confused ) thus had a great influence on the current sound of the smooth jazz .

Discusses

The smooth jazz has been for a few years already the pet peeve of the purists of the Jazz, who do not deprive themselves to openly disparage this kind, because of its lack of improvisation, swing (rhythmic ternary which is lacking with the smooth jazz, resolutely binary) and of the use of electronic instruments of which the Synthétiseur S and the boxes at rates/rhythms, considered as unsuitable with the jazz, in addition to its side particularly formatted.

The presence of the very commercial saxophonist Kenny G among the musicians affiliated to the kind made only accentuate their contempt for this kind, which they regard as music of elevator, although in general the amateurs of smooth jazz do not see it like a figure of the kind but rather like a simple musician pop " adult contemporary" and insist of course the fact that it is not at all representative of the style smooth jazz .

Moreover, even if the smooth jazz does not have a big hit in Europe, it is necessary to know that it is from now on (and by far) the kind of Jazz more the salesman on other side of the Atlantic, with the result that the majority of the radio operators jazz states-uniennes diffuse almost only smooth jazz and all the artists jazz who want to bore often make concessions with the smooth jazz because they know that it is a very good springboard, with the result that this kind is very formatted to pass out of radio and often deprived of the so typical passion which animates large the jazzmen. In the beginning, the radios smooth jazz published the pieces by removing the solos or any form of improvisation: that was at the origin of the format smooth jazz which one currently knows. Thus, knowing that their pieces must answer waitings of these radios if they want to be likely to be diffused and thus, knowing that the smooth jazz is a niche and that these artists pass only on this kind of radios, to make known itself, certain artists agree car-to format themselves upon the departure (it is also advisable to mention that it is very current that these artists record resumptions of popular successes, to see low). This anti-artistic and excessively commercial step, which deprives the artists of their creative freedom, explains why the amateurs of jazz qualify the smooth jazz of Muzak and its pieces of insipid and generic. However it does not apply fortunately to all the artists of the kind.

The defenders of the kind regard the smooth jazz as one of the legitimate sub-genera of the Jazz, as well as the jazz-fusion, from which it is derived, but the amateurs of Jazz more the traditionalists claim that the smooth jazz is not a kind of Jazz but a term invented by the media to indicate simple pop instrumental, played by musicians not having any concepts of Jazz.

Their reproaches do not appear not always justified because the majority of the musicians smooth jazz prove to be perfectly able to play of the traditional Jazz and much of them in their discography some albums in this kind count. One of the best examples is that of the saxophonist Gerald Albright, who obtained the favors of the most pointed criticisms of Jazz at the exit of his album " Live At Birdland West ". In addition, much of musicians smooth jazz furrow the roads while accompanying by the popular artists of reputation. Let us quote the example of Candy Dulfer for Prince or Chris Botti for Sting.

Moreover, it should be noted that the first musicians being devoted to the kind recognized themselves like particularly creative and talented artists: it is the case of David Sanborn, Grover Washington, Jr., George Benson (since Breezin ), George Duke, Earl Klugh, Joe Sample or Bob James.

Artists

There exists many groups of smooth jazz , but they are generally the musicians soloists who are put at the honor in these groups.

One finds among these:

  • the guitarist Ronny Jordan characterized by its way of playing its octavée guitar
  • the saxophonist Kenny G.
  • the group Incognito joined together more than one hundred of different artists on its albums.

Albums

The albums of smooth jazz are often famous to be very formatted. Indeed, much critics consider that the musicians smooth jazz exploit only one small portion of their capacities on their albums studio in order to be able to pass out of radio, while improvising the least possible. On the other hand, during the concerts, one can attest of their technical level because they are delivered much more readily to the improvisations, such any other musicians of Jazz.

One often finds on the albums many guests of which the goal is often of booster rocket the sales and to supply the radios smooth jazz in vocal titles. These guests are most of the time of other recognized artists of the kind or the singers of R&B, and more particularly Quiet Storm. One of the great characteristics of these albums is the presence of many Reprise again S instrumental of pieces R&B or pop with successes, which often take again the melody notes for note, with sometimes some singing exercises during the refrain.

Some examples:
" That' S The Way Coils Goes " of Janet Jackson by Norman Brown
" Jammin' " of Bob Marley by Grover Washington, Jr.
" Smoke Gets In Your Eyes " Platters by David Sanborn
" Beautiful " of Christina Aguilera by Kenny G with the singer Chaka Khan
" Careless Whisper " of George Michael by Dave Koz with the singer Montell Jordan
" Tears In Heaven " of Eric Clapton by Joshua Redman

Certain artists even made whole albums of Reprise again S.

Some examples:
" Inner City Blues " - Grover Washington, Jr.
" Classics In The Key off G " - Kenny G
" Songs from the Key off Life " - Najee (instrumental version of the album of Stevie Wonder)
" Forever, For Always, For Luther " - Various artists (album homage to Luther Vandross)
" Unwrapped ", " Def Jazz " and " Streetwize " - Various artists (compilations who take again pieces Rap and R' B in version smooth jazz )

Radios

The radios smooth jazz are a beautiful proof of the inaccuracy of this very galvaudé term, so much they transcend kinds which are foreign with the Jazz. The principal ones of them with the the United States are The Wave and Oasis ( one of the only French radios diffusing this kind is Radio Jazz More ), and also smoothjazzweb

By listening to a radio smooth jazz , one notices that the 2/3 are pieces smooth instrumental jazz and the third remaining consists of vocal pieces, which come from other styles (the smooth jazz not being strictly speaking a vocal kind). Among these other kinds which occupy a considerable place on the radios smooth jazz , one thus finds mainly Soul and Quiet Storm (ex: Luther Vandross, Anita Baker, Sade) but also of the pop (Sting, Simply Red, Burt Bacharach), of the Californian Rock'n'roll (Louse, Chicago, The Eagles) and sometimes even of the Old New (Yanni, John Tesh, Enya).

The types of foreign Jazz to the smooth jazz are curiously very rare on these radios whose target is very broad, but one can understand on some of them a few pieces of Cool Jazz, Bossa Nova, vocal Jazz, Acid Jazz or even of Electro-jazz (|St Germain, Llorca etc), even if it is much less frequent than the above mentioned kinds.

Smooth vocal Jazz

There does not exist truly of kind smooth vocal jazz . The artists who are attached there it are often simply because they pass on radios smooth jazz but no singer has like principal kind the smooth jazz . The smooth vocal jazz as well includes/understands artists of vocal Jazz such as the very media Diana Krall, of the crooners Quiet Storm with the image of Will Downing or of the singers pop such Michael Franks, which makes a rather indefinable inventory of it, incoherent and with variable geometry. One owes this confusion with certain artists who crossed the barriers between Jazz, R&B and pop such Rachelle Ferrell, Natalie Cole or Al Jarreau, only artist to date who saw himself rewarded in these 3 categories.

List Formations of Smooth Jazz

Guitarists

Bass players

Beaters

Keyboards

Trumpet players

Trombonists

  • Jeff Bradshaw

Saxophonists

Vibraphonists

Vocalists

Groups

Producers

Some albums of reference

" Down Young stag One The Ground " (1968) - Wes Montgomery
" Mister Magic " (1974) - Grover Washington, Jr.
" Breezin " (1976) - George Benson
" Brazilian Coils Affair " (1979) - George Duke
" Street Life " (1979) - The Crusaders
" Give Me The Night " (1980) - George Benson
" Winelight " (1980) - Grover Washington, Jr.
" Like Morning " (1980) - Grover Washington, Jr.
" Peeping Tom " (1980) - David Sanborn
" Breakin' Away " (1981) - Al Jarreau
" Suddenly " (1983) - Marcus Miller
" Live At Birdland West " (1991) - Gerald Albright
" MoodSwing" (1994) - Joshua Redman
" After The Storm " (1994) - Norman Brown
" Simply Said " (1999) - Kenny Garrett
" At Last " (2003) - Ronny Jordan

Labels

  • ARTizen Music Group
  • CTI Records
  • GRP
  • Kudu
  • Heads Up
  • Higher Native Octave
  • Instinct Records
  • MoJazz
  • Narada
  • Language
  • Peak Records
  • Shanachie
  • Windham Hill

And to a lesser extent (labels general practitioners or jazz having produced smooth jazz):

  • A&M
  • Blue Notes
  • Verve Records
  • Warner Bros. Records

See too

Internal bond

External bonds

  • SmoothJazz.com: Web-radio diffusing only of Smooth Jazz
  • Radio operator Jazz More: Radio Frenchwoman specialized in Smooth Jazz
  • Jazz, but not too! : French site on Smooth Jazz
  • Nicomaque Jazz-Fusion: French site specialized in the jazz Fusion and Smooth

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