From Rick O'Dell's Smooth Jazz Notebook

As I put the finishing touches this week on the music for the new Sunday Brunch channel, thoughts were popping into my head left and right. Since I know many of you go way back with me when it comes to Smooth Jazz, I'll share with you what I was thinking as I uploaded one vintage track after another into our online music library . . .

• There's an awful lot of darn good instrumental music from the late '80s and early '90s that doesn't get any kind of airplay anymore. I can understand that over-the-air radio has given up on it, what with the sad state of Smooth Jazz on terrestrial radio. But it's scarce on the internet too, and there's no reason for that. That's why I had to bring back the Sunday Brunch.
• Anyone out there remember the group Uncle Festive? They were Barry Manilow's touring band in the '70s and '80s and, with crowds going wild for Barry, they even had their own fan club. By the middle 1980s, the quartet was performing on its own. Drummer Bud Harner went onto become one of the leading record reps in Smooth Jazz.
• A listener once described Lonnie Liston Smith's “Quiet Moments” to me as “the national anthem of Smooth Jazz.” Indeed, it embodies everything we love about the genre. But another tune of Lonnie's, “London Interlude” is, to my ears, equally mesmerizing and a vastly underrated track.
• I know we liked going deep into CDs when the format started, but Horizont's Silent Moon was exceptional, even for that era. When I got to the station in 1989, WNUA was playing six tracks from it. You better believe I added all six to the Sunday Brunch channel.
• Between 1986 and 1992 Acoustic Alchemy did some unbelievably compelling stuff, making them one of the pillars of the “New Adult Contemporary” radio format, as it was called back then. Greg Carmichael and the late Nick Webb were creative geniuses at their peak. Today, their CDs of the period, such as Natural Elements and Reference Point, still hold up extremely well.
• On the other hand, some material from the early days of the format just doesn't hold up as well, mainly because it was poorly produced, sounding like it had been recorded in a garage. The New Adult Contemporary format in its early days had a reputation of playing just about everything that came its way, and sometimes it was to our detriment. If anything's changed from the late '80s, it's production values.
• Smooth Jazz has more than its share of one-hit wonders, including a French keyboardist named Serge Blenner. Played for only a brief time on WNUA between 1987 and 1989, his “Love Talk” is unique for its use of a human laugh track. And he actually makes it work. Listen for it here.
• What was in the water up there in the Pacific Northwest? A large number of key artists in the early days of Smooth Jazz hailed from there: Kenny G., Jeff Lorber, Dan Siegel, Tom Grant, just to name a few.
• If any tune could ever be called “smoldering,” it's Santana's “Aqua Marine.” Speaking of Santana, another of his tracks from that time in his career, “Love Is You,” has to be one of the greatest rock-influenced instrumental melodies ever.

Have a track from the early days of Smooth Jazz that you find especially moving or interesting? Tell me about it, and I could add it to my Notebook and the Sunday Brunch channel. Drop me a line at this address: Rick@accuradio.com.

Congratulations, Pam and Jim!

When major characters on a TV show get married to each other, I've learned it's nothing to celebrate. Even as a nine-year-old, watching Maxwell Smart marry Agent 99 on the original Get Smart, I felt something wasn't quite right. The idea of a wedding didn't fit a show that had gotten me hooked because of its gadgets, secret agents and world takeover plots. Get Smart is just one example. I can't think of a show that got better after two of its main characters got married.

That being said, I'm strangely optimistic about tonight's episode of The Office, where we get to see Jim and Pam finally tie the knot. Maybe it's because it's totally believable--we've all seen an in-office romance or two blossom and go all the way to the altar, just as Jim and Pam's has. Maybe it's because their courtship was so charmingly, innocently depicted on screen during the first two seasons that I've been rooting for them ever since. Maybe it's because John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer are creating characters who are so much fun to watch on screen. Or maybe it's because they're headed down the path we knew they'd be going eventually, and once they do, we can move onto their next (mis)adventure.

Usually, when a show decides to weave a wedding into its plot lines, it's a sign that the well of creative inspiration is running dry. I don't think that's the case, however. Jim and Pam's big day makes a lot of sense, and it happens to be just the latest in a series of hilarious plot points in another strong season of The Office. I know what I'll be doing at 8:00 tonight. Don't call me then.

Our Music's Not a Priority to Big Radio

WVMV/Detroit

1995-2009

Smooth Jazz lost another station this weekend. Detroit's WVMV, which had been around since December of 1995, switched to a Top 40 format this past Friday.

The ownership of WVMV, CBS Radio, was quick to put a positive spin on the format change, issuing a statement on its website saying, “new media and new technologies have given us the chance to still keep this [smooth jazz] programming on the air.”

So, how will the format be kept on the air? According to the website: “Get an HD receiver, and you'll still hear us.” Without an HD receiver, though, the only way to listen to WVMV will be their audio stream. And, be it HD radio or internet, it'll be just the remnants of WVMV, because the station no longer features a full complement of announcers.

Moreover, when it comes to a radio format, do you know what being shifted over to HD radio means? It's the equivalent of “You get to keep your job, but we're transferring you to Nome, Alaska.” As a format, when you're sent off to HD land, it's all but over for you--HD is where radio formats go to die. So, “still being available on the air on HD radio” isn't exactly the gift you might think it is.

This isn't as much an indictment of how corporate radio operates as it is just another example of how little the Smooth Jazz fan means to them when it comes to over-the-air radio. They're in the business of making money, and they obviously don't believe Smooth Jazz is a moneymaker anymore. It's as simple as that.

Thankfully, we have internet radio riding to our rescue. As conventional over-the-air radio stations have dropped the Smooth Jazz format, internet radio has rushed in to fill the gap. As a result, Smooth Jazz fans have never had more and better choices than they do right now—on the internet. Think about it. Just a few years ago, if you were a listener of WVMV (or, here in Chicago, WNUA), that was the only station you could turn to for Smooth Jazz. If they were playing songs that weren't your cup of tea, well, you had no other station to switch to. These days, by listening on the internet, you give yourself choices. Lots of them. Twelve channel choices for Smooth Jazz here at ChiTownSmoothJazz.com, for example.

So I say, let Big Radio wipe Smooth Jazz off the face of the over-the-air radio dial. The listening's better—much better—here on the internet.

Smooth Jazz Q&A

Lately I've heard some jazzy-sounding jingles playing in between songs on UltraSmoothJazz. Were they done by Smooth Jazz musicians? (Lois - Brookfield, Ill.)

You could say that. They were composed and produced by a group called The Inline Six, a talented Chicago-based ensemble. Led by Jay Martini and Mitch Germaine, The Inline Six is as much at home creating jingles for UltraSmoothJazz as they are playing impassioned renditions of smooth and "rough" jazz numbers, R&B, rock and blues.

Is the Dave Koz and Friends Smooth Jazz Christmas concert all Christmas music? (Susan - Chicago, Ill.)

No. It's about 60% Christmas classics (along with Dave's spirited Hanukkah song) and 40% non-holiday tunes. The non-holiday material is made up of the Smooth Jazz hits by the individual performers in the band (Rick Braun, Peter White, David Benoit and Brenda Russell).
Dave and the band are able to transition seamlessly from Christmas songs to non-Christmas songs and back in a show that's festive and fun from beginning to end.

The tour begins the day after Thanksgiving and includes 21 performances around the country. To me, this is the one Smooth Jazz concert that's an automatic. Find out where they're playing nearest you, and enjoy a dose of holiday spirit that'll take you right through the New Year.

Sunday Brunch: A Page Out of Smooth Jazz History

Throughout the 23-year history of Smooth Jazz radio, the "Sunday Brunch" concept has had an important role. It's given Smooth Jazz stations a chance to deliver a touch of elegance to Sunday morning programming.

The "Sunday Brunch" channel here at UltraSmoothJazz.com is based on the "Sunday Lite Brunch" which originally aired in Chicago on WCLR-FM in 1987. It was the first Smooth Jazz program to air in Chicago and one of the first in the entire country, premiering one weekend after KTWV/Los Angeles, "The Wave," launched the first 24-hour, 7-day-a-week format in the country on February 14, 1987.

I was the original producer and host of the "Sunday Lite Brunch" on WCLR. I remember those days very clearly. In early February of 1987, I found myself making frequent trips to record stores in search of music for the Brunch. I'd scour the Jazz and New Age sections of the store and grab the entire catalogue of the few artists I already knew about (Grover Washington Jr. and George Benson, for example). Then I'd ask someone in the store to point me in the direction of some of their own favorites in those categories. That's how I first learned about the great old Windham Hill and Narada artists that were an important part of the format in the early days. In about an hour I'd be back at the station with a stack of albums (yes, vinyl!) that the Music Director and I would listen to, track by track, on the turntable in her office. It took a couple weeks, but we had the makings of our first Brunch playlist--nearly a hundred tracks.

"The Sunday Lite Brunch" debuted in Chicago on February 22, 1987. Station management opted for a quiet launch, something unheard of today. There had been no promos leading up to that moment, so we took the audience completely by surprise at 8:00 am that day. And surprised they were. Pleasantly surprised. By the time I got through with my first on-air break, where I welcomed listeners to "The Sunday Lite Brunch, a brand new program on WCLR," all my phone lines were ringing. I answered the first call. It was a woman saying she liked the idea of the new show. I took a second call. Another encouraging, positive comment. I took a third. Same thing. On and on it went, call after call. As I played more and more music, listeners continued to call in. Around 9:00, the hotline in the studio rang. It was WCLR's General Manager, Chet Redpath, asking what kind of reaction we were getting to the Brunch. I couldn't get it out fast enough: "It's unbelievable, Chet--people are LOVING the music!"

Through the spring and summer of 1987 the warm reaction we were getting each weekend grew into a white-hot buzz. Positive calls and letters to the station numbered in the hundreds without a single complaint. We offered a free program guide to the show ("The Sunday Lite Brunch Menu"), and we had a thousand requests by the end of the summer. Ratings on Sunday morning were rising. Clients were lining up to sponsor the show. Dan Miller of Crain's Chicago Business and Robert Feder of the Chicago Sun-Times surprised us with positive reviews that were most welcome, with Robert even describing the Brunch as "being as close to perfect as any radio show." The entire WCLR braintrust and I agreed: in all our years in the business, we'd never seen a reaction like this to any new show we'd been part of. When WNUA finally hit the air August 3 with their full-time format of the music we'd been playing on Sunday morning, they would be trading on the unprecedented amount of goodwill that had been built up toward the format in the listening community the past six months. If Sunday morning was any indication, listeners adored the format. And in Chicago they have--for 23 years and counting.

Over the years, the mixture of music that both the Sunday Lite Brunch and WNUA started out with evolved, as radio formats always do. What began as a blend of 30% contemporary jazz, 30% New Age and 40% pop/rock/folk/R&B vocals in 1987 was nearly a 50-50 blend of contemporary ("smooth") jazz and pop vocals by 2009. The New Age content and the eclectic vocals had all but disappeared. A certain segment of the listening audience that had been drawn to the Brunch and WNUA in the early days because of the rich variety of sounds, textures and colors became disenchanted with the direction the format had taken. Sadly, there was no longer a radio show or station in Chicago catering to their musical preferences. I heard early and often from this part of the WNUA audience while I was working for the station, and I sympathized with them because of my affection for the music that had made the Brunch so popular during its early days. There wasn't much New Age music on WNUA anymore, but I was still enjoying listening to it at home, just as they were. I harbored a wish that someday there would be a place where I could bring back all of those wonderfully unique tunes that were missing on commercial radio.

Fortunately, with the arrival of the internet, variety has returned to the listening landscape. With over-the-air radio being forced to play it safe because of economic concerns, the internet has become home to music that will never see the light of day on the AM and FM dials. Our new Sunday Brunch channel, at UltraSmoothJazz.com, is a good example. In creating the new Brunch, I went back to my original playlists from 1987 to 1993 to build the musical foundation. I then added material that, had we been able to maintain the original concept of the Sunday Brunch with New Age music, we would have automatically added to the playlist along the way.

It is a great pleasure to be able to resurrect the Brunch. I hope you get as much enjoyment out of listening to it as I did gathering up all the old songs from the original show. And, as was always the case with the Brunch, if you have personal favorites you think would be appropriate for our channel, please let me know what they are. List them in the Shoutbox, or drop me a note (Rick@accuradio.com) anytime.

Whether you're a former listener from the earliest days of the Smooth Jazz format (I know at least a few of you are still out there!) or someone who's just now discovering the varied musical palette which was the original Sunday Brunch, thank you for listening. It's a glimpse into radio history I hope will never go away again--at least not if I have anything to do with it.

Rick O'Dell
Operations Manager - http://www.ultrasmoothjazz.com/

More New Music to Listen For at Ultra Smooth Jazz.com

Look for Dave Koz & Friends to hit the road with their "Smooth Jazz Christmas" again this holiday season.

A few more goodies just added to the UltraSmoothJazz.com playlist:

Boney James - "Touch"

CD: Send One Your Love (Concord)

John Klemmer--remember him?--was a fixture in contemporary jazz back in the '70s. He was a musician, poet, philosopher and something of a renaissance man, a thoughtful artist of many layers. Now, nearly 35 years after John Klemmer caught the ear of the jazz world with his debut "Touch," Boney James reminds us of why so many of us were entranced by the tune in the first place.

Jessy J - "Tropical Rain"

CD: True Love (Peak)

This is Jessy's much anticipated follow-up to her chart-topping debut, Tequila Moon. Jessy's been turning heads the past two summers as one of the focal points of the "Guitars and Saxes" tour.

Paul Jackson Jr. - "Easy Like Sunday Morning"

CD: Lay It Back (Branch)

Paul is one of the busiest first-call studio musicians on the left coast, and no wonder. The late Luther Vandross dubbed him "The Picasso of Guitar" for his uncommon abilities on the six-string. Here, Paul delivers the old Commodores' song that's ideal for our new Sunday Brunch channel.

Jackiem Joyner - "I'm Waiting For You"

CD: Lil' Man Soul (Artistry)

Virtually unknown back when he was touring with Marcus Johnson and Bobby Lyle from 2001 to 2004, Jackiem is establishing himself as a rising solo star of Smooth Jazz. This is his breakthrough CD.

Dave Koz - "And Then I Knew"

CD: Dave Koz Greatest Hits (Capitol)

You won't want to miss the Smooth Jazz concert event of the year, Dave Koz & Friends' Smooth Jazz Christmas, playing various cities starting November 27. Dave will be joined by the original group that accompanied him on his first Christmas tour in 1997: Rick Braun, Peter White, David Benoit and Brenda Russell.

Phillip Martin - "Realization"

CD: Realization (Zephryn)

It's new talent coming into Smooth Jazz that will guarantee the future of the genre, and Phillip, a native Hoosier, shows great promise on his latest CD.

Paul Taylor - "Burnin'"

CD: Burnin' (Peak)

Seems like just yesterday Paul was making his Chicago debut at the House of Blues as a member of Keiko Matsui's traveling band. Here in 2009, he's firmly established as a groove master whose live performances have raised the bar for passion and romance.

Enjoy!

Rick O'Dell

Operations Manager, UltraSmoothJazz.com

What's New at Ultra Smooth Jazz.com

Just added to the UltraSmoothJazz.com playlist:

Joyce Cooling - "Grass Roots"

CD: Global Cooling (Group 2 Productions)

One of my favorite musicians (and people) in Smooth Jazz, Joyce has done it again--put together a recording brimming with sunny, inviting melodies. This is the seventh CD for one of our genre's most consistent artists. Of "Grass Roots," Joyce writes, "Touching down lightly in the Caribbean, 'Grass Roots' mixes just a hint of reggae with bluesy guitars and a horn section to create a track that swings like a shuffle with an island twist."

Nick Colionne - "The Big Windy Cat"

CD: No Limits (Koch)

It was only a matter of time before Nick penned a composition with this title. It seems whenever he's on the road, another musician will refer to him as "the cat from the Big Windy." Without a doubt, Nick is a worthy Smooth Jazz ambassador for the city, bringing a dash of Chicago cool to wherever he performs.

Andrew Neu - "Next Time I Fall in Love"

CD: Try Something Neu (Nu Groove)

Looks like third time's the charm for the saxman from Philadelphia, whose third solo CD ought to be his breakthrough recording. Andrew Neu ("new") has Bobby Caldwell providing vocals on this track. Bobby should be intimately familiar with them, since he wrote the song in the mid-'80s.

Enjoy the fresh, new music!

Rick O'Dell

Operations Manager - UltraSmoothJazz.com