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Smooth jazz may be thought of as commercially-oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 1980s, displacing the more venturesome jazz fusion from which it emerged.
Feb 8, 2024 · In terms of its popularity, smooth jazz peaked in the early 00s, but the genre hasn’t been consigned to history yet, with artists such as keyboardist Jeff Lorber, saxophonists Boney James and...
- Charles Waring
It’s fitting that the west coast was the birthplace in 1987 of the first “smooth jazz” station, KTWV in Los Angeles, 94.7 THE WAVE, home of all sorts of laid-back grooves since the very beginning of jazz and pop.
An outgrowth of soul jazz (1960s) and jazz fusion (1970s), smooth jazz arose and gained prominence in the late 1980s when record labels experimented with new approaches to further expand the audience for jazz. Smooth jazz artists draw inspiration and repertoire from easy listening pop music and R&B ballads.
Jul 6, 2023 · At its height, smooth jazz was a life-style-driven format associated with comfortable, if not extravagant, affluence, as evidenced by the popularity of smooth-jazz cruises.
Grover Washington, Jr. is largely credited with inventing smooth jazz. He began fusing jazz with pop and R&B, using light funk arrangements and a soulfulness that made his music broadly appealing. The album Inner City Blues, released in 1971, allowed him to rise up the charts.
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The breakthrough at radio for New Adult Contemporary came from the west coast with stations like KTWV in Los Angeles, known as “The Wave” and KKSF in San Francisco which O’Dell says featured a 50/50 blend of contemporary jazz and new age sounds.
