Thursday, March 31, 2005
A very entertaining post on Michael Bérubé's site, asks the question, "Where did smooth jazz come from?" "[A]s the example of David Sanborn demonstrates, smooth jazz also has an embassy in the neighbor state ruled by Steely Dan (in fact, some historians attribute Aja to Steely Dans colonization by the forces of smooth jazz)." Don't miss the comments-- they're great too: "The enduring presence of santized jazz like Paul Whiteman (and Ozzie Nelson, although I did like Ozzie & Harriets closing theme from the later years) also cant be neglected. And its not just jazz--every genre and subgenre seems to generate some Mantavoni-like spinoff that comes later or simply has a broader appeal. The Eagles, Loggins & Messina, etc. took what the Byrds & Buffalo Springfield begat and made it into varieties of soft and country rock, and Kiss took metal from the likes of the Who & Led Zepplin and made it acceptable to bubble gum-types, theres always been somone ready to take jazz and make it acceptable to people who people who have trouble getting something as accessible as Ella Fitzgerald songbooks."
When we lived in NYC a smooth jazz station came on the air and was promoted with television ads that featured Miles Davis. "It's very cool," Miles rasped, "Like me." It should go without saying that CD101.9 was not at all cool like Miles Davis, but it bears mentioning that Miles was not above putting out stuff that had as its sole reason for existence its commercial quality. Context is important: I love Miles' "Porgy and Bess", but let's face it, there is nothing on that side that would sound out of place followed by a Herbie Mann cut.
When we lived in NYC a smooth jazz station came on the air and was promoted with television ads that featured Miles Davis. "It's very cool," Miles rasped, "Like me." It should go without saying that CD101.9 was not at all cool like Miles Davis, but it bears mentioning that Miles was not above putting out stuff that had as its sole reason for existence its commercial quality. Context is important: I love Miles' "Porgy and Bess", but let's face it, there is nothing on that side that would sound out of place followed by a Herbie Mann cut.
// posted by Bill @ 11:55 AM 
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