Who made the better record? It’s impossible to say; some listeners like to be challenged, others just want to zone out. What is clear is that the chasm between the two approaches is widening. While the kind of jazz that celebrates Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington and John Coltrane relies increasingly on support from foundations and universities, a new breed of instrumentalists has broken through to the mainstream using the slick production values and simpler harmonies of contemporary pop. The proof is the rise of smooth jazz, a mix of instrumentals and creamy pop vocals by singers like Anita Baker and Sade. It’s the fastest-growing format in radio. About 70 commercial FM stations in cities large and small have made the switch, with more coming on board every month. The station that came up with the formula in 1987, Los Angeles’s ““The Wave’’ (KTWV), has become the city’s most popular English-language station among listeners 25 to 52. That’s the jackpot: baby boomers.
The jazz world disdains smooth jazz. ““A hooker in an evening gown,’’ pianist Ellis Marsalis, patriarch of jazz’s ruling family, told a reporter. ““It’s a war,’’ says Bob Parlocha, music director of the nonprofit jazz station KJAZ in San Francisco. And a holy war at that. ““Jazz feels like a religion to us,’’ he says. Some call it a zero-sum game, with every dollar spent on pop jazz a loss to the real masters. But the most accomplished jazz artists tend to be philosophical about the hard facts: someone like Kenny G., to jazz cognoscenti the epitome of instrumental schlock, sells millions of records every time out. ““When we go our way, we’re saying we don’t care if we make a lot of money,’’ says Bartz. He hopes the new prominence of jazz lite will draw in some converts. ““Maybe somebody will hear Kenny G. and like the soprano and go get a Coltrane record,’’ he says.
The champions of smooth jazz call the critics snobs. They say the format succeeds simply because it gives people what they want – melodic music that doesn’t shriek for attention but still rewards listening. Indeed, the consulting firm that almost singlehandedly created the smooth-jazz revolution sells clients by proving that its programming touches a nerve. Broadcast Architecture of Princeton, N.J., puts a meter called the MixMaster into the hands of a studio audience while playing sound bites from prospective playlists. Not surprisingly, there is a sameness to the winning favorites; guitars and saxes backed by synthesizers predominate. And if critics call it elevator music with a backbeat? ““We have to start where the listeners are, then we can teach them,’’ explains CEO Frank Cody. ““I’m going to be respectful of the listener, not cynical.’’ He offers a similar defense to charges that ““jazz’’ is a misnomer for what these stations play. In interviews, the listeners themselves call it that, he says.
A few stars of smooth jazz bridge the gap. Saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. has won both a mass audience and the respect of his jazz elders. Kirk Whalum, who built a following while touring with Whitney Houston, is a powerhouse in the gospel-tinged tradition of the Texas tenor-sax player Arnett Cobb. Pianist Joe Sample, who plays with the pop-jazz Crusaders, has just released a poised, meditative acoustic record. Herbie Hancock has taken so much flak for his crossover efforts that he claims he’s no longer a jazz artist, but he has mined some jewels from the rift. Still, these are a jazz fan’s selections. What may ultimately boost smooth jazz is a new audience, weaned on three-chord rock and roll and the aimless noodling of New Age music. If these fans are moving toward music with a bit more heft, is that bad for the jazz tradition? And smooth jazz keeps afloat the same record companies that support the innovators. The jazz police should lighten up. They weren’t always so hip.
Smooth jazz is by far the fasting-growing radio format in recent years.
Percentage Increase in Revenue Growth, Jan. 1993-Dec. 1995 Smooth Jazz……………………….75.7 Spanish…………………………..55.5 Alternative……………………….54.2 Nostalgia…………………………39.1 Soft adult contemporary…………….37.1 Contemporary hit radio……………..33.9 Easy listening…………………….33.6 Adult contemporary…………………29.3 Classical…………………………28.4 Urban…………………………….27.1 Oldies……………………………26.3 Country…………………………..20.4 Rock……………………………..15.2 Classic rock………………………15.1 All-news………………………….14.7 Source: Miller, Kaplan, Arase & co.
