All That Jazz - The Straight Skinny

The Straight Skinny

Many Rivers To Cross

By Carol Archer

"Dear Lord, God of creation, God of comfort, there is no sorrow, no pain or suffering with which you are not personally familiar, and for which you did not appropriate your Amazing Grace. Your very presence brings calm in chaos, quiet in confusion, peace in troubled waters. We commit our sister Deborah to you that your angels would tend to her every care, heal every wound, and draw her close to you, our suffering but triumphant Lord.

"Respecting every faith Tradition represented in this circle of care, I pray in the name of Jesus our Redeemer."

None, Zero, Nada, Zilch

Like many involved with the Smooth Jazz format, .wav Internet station founder/PD Christopher Acton takes exception to the direction taken by many of its terrestrial outlets, especially format sinecure CBS Radio's KTWV(The Wave)/Los Angeles: "KTWV has completely morphed into a soft A/C station, save for two-three token old, overplayed instrumental cuts each hour that are about as familiar as Phil Collins' 'In The Air Tonight.' For anyone who is dedicated to the survival of Smooth Jazz as a radio format, what KTWV does these days has no bearing -- zilch -- on what forward-thinking programmers are trying to do to support the artists and keep contemporary instrumental-based formats alive, current, and fresh.

"So their ratings are significantly higher. Good for them. [That's] business, and they have to do what they have to do to stay profitable, particularly with their huge overhead. But how exactly is this good for contemporary jazz artists struggling to get spins…[or] jilted listeners who have fewer and fewer options these days to find current contemporary jazz music on the FM dial? There is a ton of great new, fresh instrumental music being made by young and up-and-coming artists, like Cindy Bradley and Darren Rahn, amongst others. But I challenge you to hear it being played on KTWV.

"KTWV's current bounce in ratings has nothing to do with the fact that Jhani Kaye has masterfully rebranded the Smooth Jazz product. It has everything to do with the fact that he has chosen the safe, predictable, PPM-friendly soft A/C direction."

Who says you can't get something for nothing? Sharon Robinson mixed a cool recording of one of her performances of "Boogie Street" from Leonard Cohen's 2009 tour, which you can stream and/or download free at: http://sharonrobinsonmusic.com/download

What's on your mind? Please reach out to me at jazzdolphingirl@gmail.com. Have a great week and stay smooth.

The views expressed by Carol Archer do not necessarily reflect the opinions of All That Jazz.