|
The Straight Skinny
Never Can Say Goodbye
By Carol Archer |
|
The views expressed by Carol Archer do not necessarily reflect the opinions of All That Jazz. But often they do. |
|
"With an industry mindset one could look at our brunch show playlists and go 'uh-oh, unfamiliar music, too eclectic,' but when you actually listen it flows, it sounds and feels comfortable and familiar but interesting at the same time. It creates a mood but gives the listener the space to choose the mood. I have to refer to the way I felt when I first heard Ken Navarro's 'Dreaming of Trains' CD which was affirmed by other comments over the course of his Facebook listening gatherings: 'It takes me away;' 'It's an experience;' 'It's transcendent.' That is something music does that we can give to people right now. In the '90s and early in this decade perhaps a relaxation service did fill a need but now people need something more: to be taken away from their everyday lives and be given a space where their imagination is free to roam. This means music that doesn't remind them of what they hear at work or the song on the radio when they got broken up with. Scheduling music this way takes time -- sometimes almost as long as the show runs -- but it is so gratifying to hear a music mix come together and know it will be a shared experience for a bunch of people. [This sounds] 'woo-woo,' but look where living totally in our left brains got us. She continues: "A few pieces back [in The Skinny], Bill Harman presented the case for blowing it up and starting over again. My feeling is more along the lines of a fragmentation similar to the A/C-Hot A/C evolution in the mid '90s. I have always advocated a hotter version of [Smooth Jazz] but ultimately while listening to some wonderful recent releases: Navarro; Jeff Beck; Standring; Golub; Russ Hewitt; and the vocals on the new Steve Oliver, among them - the concept that [I call] Instrumental Oriented Adult Alternative. "It's an alternative to the everyday music you hear repeatedly on AC, Smooth AC and the numerous Gold-based permutations. It's mostly instrumental but not always, and it is current original music created by and for adults (one principle of IOAA is to back mature singer/writers who sing without gimmicks and write from both integrity and experience, like Maysa Leak or singer/songwriter David Wilcox). No need to blow up Smooth AC or the traditional relaxation format, just bring in another perspective. "If there is an audience for an AC mix that is softer than mainstream AC, then Smooth AC will work, probably after considerable tweaking. There is certainly room for the current 'relaxing' urban-leaning blend and the audience that has grown comfortable with it over the last 15 years. But there is a segment of the audience that has been marginalized to the point of exile; ironically, it is the audience that got into the music and propelled it to high profile in the pre-smooth days -- listeners who grew up with pop and rock (especially progressive rock) who wanted something new that was going to grow up with them that included pop, rock, and world music influences as well as the R&B flavor and had foreground elements - the guitar solos, 'blaring horns' and up-tempo songs that were phased out of the Smooth Jazz mix."
As always, I welcome your input. Please feel free to contact me at jazzdolphingirl@gmail.com. Have a great week and stay smooth.
Copyright Carol Archer 2010 |
|
No need to blow up Smooth AC or the traditional relaxation format, just bring in another perspective. -- Shannon West |