Here's an article that I thought might stimulate some discussion. Although
I'm fortunate to live in the SF Bay Area and have plenty of college stations
to choose from, whenever I travel around the country I invariably find
stations like this. And they bug me just as much as they bug this writer.
Why is it that commercial radio stations can't/won't take a chance on
something that is equally "relaxing" and "jazzy," like say Kruder &
Dorfmeister or Fila Brazillia? That's what I don't understand! :-(
> It's Not Just Jazz. It's Smooth Jazz. Zzzzzzz.
>
> By Frank Ahrens
> Washington Post Staff Writer
> Tuesday, October 16, 2001; Page C01
>
> It is the job of this column to sample the radio dial like a
> buffet, listening to
> news, talk, rap, country, rock, classical and so on. Over the
> past three years I
> have assiduously jumped around that dial, listening closely along
> the entire
> spectrum of frequencies. Sure, I have favorites, but I excluded
> no station.
>
> Except for one.
>
> A radio station that I have singularly avoided. It is fair to say
> that, in three
> years, I have listened to this station for perhaps a total of 10 minutes.
> Occasionally I have tuned in -- for 30 seconds. Then I have
> screamed, and flipped to
> another station. Think of it as Brussels sprouts. Every year, out
> of obligation, you
> take a taste. You think, "Maybe this year they won't be
> terrible." Fat chance.
>
> For me, the Brussels sprout of Washington radio is Smooth Jazz 105.9.
>
> To my ear, it is "smooth" in the way that a coma might be
> considered "smooth." It's
> about as "jazzy" as George Will. The station's purpose is to
> relax the listener. The
> mainly instrumental music played on WJZW is meant to disappear;
> it is one step up
> from the wave-and-thunder CDs you buy at the mall. It is today's
> elevator music --
> but less hip. At least a Muzak version of "Raindrops Keep Falling
> on My Head" has a
> sort of retro-chic. Kenny G does not. Nor do many of Smooth
> Jazz's hitmakers -- Dave
> Koz, Jeff Kashiwa, a certain Fattburger or Lee Ritenour (who is
> described thus by
> Allmusic.com: "the perfect studio musician, one who can melt into
> the background
> without making any impact."
>
> Yet the smooth-jazz format -- in Washington and around the
> country -- is a big success.
>
> Smooth Jazz 105.9 was classic-rock WCXR until 1994, when it
> switched formats. Since
> then, the Friendship Heights station frequently has ranked in the
> Top 10 in the
> quarterly Arbitron ratings among all Washington listeners. If you
> slice the pie more
> relevantly, to show how Smooth Jazz does among its mostly adult
> listeners, the
> numbers are more impressive: In the most recent ratings survey,
> the station ranked
> third in the 35-64 age group and first among those 35 to 54 who
> work full time, are
> well educated and have a household income of more than $75,000.
> In short, the
> station -- like public radio -- has a smart, wealthy audience.
>
> So given all this, I call up Kenny King, Smooth Jazz's affable,
> enthusiastic program
> director. I ask: Whence my blind spot? Could it be that I'm wrong
> about your music
> and everyone else is right? Could it be that what I need, more
> than anything else,
> is to "relax"?
>
> "It's almost like Kellogg's Corn Flakes," offers King, 34.
> "Everybody likes it, but
> they're afraid to admit it."I don't like it, I say. And I love to
> admit it.
>
> "You need to spend some time with this format," chides King. "Put
> a Post-it note on
> your dashboard: 'Listen to Smooth Jazz 105.9' "
>
> Sure. I'll put it right next to the Post-it that reads: "Buy
> scented candles."
>
> King is a true believer; it's his job to be. But he's also a
> real-life convert -- a
> former metalhead, he was the morning man on WCXR when it flipped
> from rock to Smooth
> Jazz. He's partied backstage with Guns N' Roses. But if you
> picked through King's
> home CD stack these days, it would look a lot like his station's
> playlist. (What
> would Axl say?)
>
> Smooth jazz was dreamed up about a dozen years ago at Los Angeles
> station KTWV; the
> format was given its name by focus groups of listeners. They were
> played cuts by
> Kenny G, John Tesh and other somnolent musicians and asked, "How
> would you describe
> this music?" "Smooth," most said. "Jazzy," others said. Very
> relaxing. And a format
> was born.
>
> Smooth Jazz 105.9 is one of only a few Washington radio stations
> that have an
> audience with a substantial racial mix. According to Arbitron, it
> is 58 percent
> white, 36 percent black, 6 percent Hispanic. Most stations have a
> overwhelmingly
> white, black or Spanish-speaking audience.
>
> Indeed, folks of all stripes have fallen before the irresistible
> force of Smooth
> Jazz. King once shared the Washington Wizards owner's box with
> Bill Clinton, Anthony
> Williams and Michael Jordan. All three said they listened to
> King's station, he
> says. A meaner, less relaxed radio critic might point out that
> proves that all the
> money and power in the world can't buy good taste.
>
> "One common thread in the musicians of this format is that they
> can't fake it," King
> counters. "You can either play or you can't. There's no
> distortion or fuzz tone on
> guitars. It's pure. Over time, this music became a passion for
> me. Summed up in one
> word, it's 'quality.' "
>
> Which is maybe the thing I'm most afraid of. If I listen to
> Smooth Jazz long enough,
> I might begin to . . . like it. When I listen to King, I can't
> help but think of the
> Borg on "Star Trek," aliens who assimilate everything they
> encounter. In fact, I can
> almost hear King intoning the Borg mantra:
>
> "Resistance is futile."
___________________________________________
Mark Turner
nugroove@pacbell.net
THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE (w/DJ Rocky Rococo)
5-8:30pm Fridays @ Fuel in San Jose
More info: www.jazzadelica.com
___________________________________________
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Sun Oct 21 2001 - 00:56:23 CEST