Re: Soul Jazz as distinct from "Smooth Jazz"

Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 21:24:11 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.guitar.jazz
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I've seen George Duke, Crusaders, George Benson called smooth
jazz. Wes' last albums albums would be called smooth jazz today.
Brian Hughes is smooth jazz. Smooth jazz does seem to be
a descendant of '70s r & b. Like all genre naming it's just a way
to sell by taking advantage of the way the mind like to compartmentalize
things.
dj
"thom_j." <email-address-deleted> wrote in message
news:email-address-deleted...
> Many have labeled Grover Washington Jr as a "Smooth Jazzer."
> Is this a well desreved label aka tag for him or no? tia.. thom_j.
>
> "Max Leggett" <email-address-deleted> wrote in message
> news:email-address-deleted...
> > I always think of Cannoball Adderly as playing soul jazz. Anf for me
> > Miles playing SurrY With The Fringe On Top is smooth. Not shallow in
> > the least, but smooth. What is promulgated as <smooth jazz> is
> > something else again, possibly beamed down upon us by alien beings in
> > the 17th dimension in an attempt to undermine the morals of our youth.
> > But it's not jazz, and, given the way it rasps against my ears, it's
> > not smooth, either.
> >
> > On 20 May 2003 08:40:53 -0700, email-address-deleted (Sideways Jaye) wrote:
> >
> > >Recently there have been a number of threads and posts disparaging
> > >smooth jazz. I'm definitely not a fan of what I consider "smooth
> > >jazz." However, several posts mentioned that "smooth jazz" was a
> > >derivative of r&b or perhaps should be considered r&b and not jazz at
> > >all.
> > >
> > >"R&B" is a huge category, but I think this statement is unfair to some
> > >of the great r&b artists from James Brown to Aretha to Al Green to the
> > >Meters etc.
> > >
> > >What I consider "smooth jazz" seems to me to owe more to flaccid lite
> > >pop ranging from Melissa Manchester to Lionel Richie to Air Supply
> > >than anything I'd consider "r&b."
> > >
> > >Soul Jazz, on the other hand, while it can be as dead simple as Grant
> > >Green cooly tearing it up on "Ain't That Peculiar," or Rodney Jones
> > >digging into "Ain't No Sunshine," is something I'm pleased to listen
> > >to and play.
> >
>
>