This incredibly light, fun, and surprisingly hip two-CD collection from
Blue Note uses the term "
smooth jazz" in an unexpected way. Rather than referring to the genre, "smooth" refers to the temperament and feel of these sometimes funky/sometimes poppy tracks that are selected from six decades of
jazz.
Dave Koz,
Richard Elliot, and a couple other names could be filed in the
smooth jazz section, but
Adderley,
Baker, and
Byrd are too classic for that, and it's easy to imagine the legions of funky
Medeski, Martin & Wood fans recoiling in horror over the title's
Kenny G. insinuation. In actuality the disc is a whole lot of fun. Most of it is very hip fun and very little of it is wallpaper. The
Bobby McFerrin,
Ramsey Lewis, and
Chet Baker cuts are obvious choices, but the inclusion of
Charlie Hunter's smoky version of
Roxy Music's
"More Than This" is a very pleasant surprise and having such divergent sounds as
St. Germain's
"Latin Note" and
Elza Soares'
"Mas Que Nada" in the same collection is crafty cool. Perhaps Sauve Jazz would be a better title for this pleasing collection of refined and relaxing tunes. ~ David Jeffries
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