Smooth Jazz

Okay, it's confirmed – I am now a true believer in the Smooth Jazz genre. After two decades of muddling through various music genres - ranging from classical to Cantonese pop, before finally settling down to jazz – I think I have finally zeroed in on one that really stirs my loins.

I have been a jazz fan for more than decade now. It was Traditional Jazz, particularly the jazz trio ballads (piano, double bass, percussions) made famous by the Bill Evans Trio and his contemporaries, that started off my love for jazz. The soft gentle melody and mysterious chords from the piano intertwining with the pulsating staccato's from the double bass' strings, the swing beat from the drums and brushes lurking in the shadows of the music – all blending together to form a musical mosaic of romanticism.

I had always believed that traditional jazz’s trio ballads defined the pinnacle of what I sought in my quest for the music genre that I loved. However, a trip to SkyFM (http://www.sky.fm/smoothjazz/) convinced me otherwise. Therein, I found something in there that, I have to admit, the traditional jazz genre of the 1960's seemed to lack.

In just one 2-hour sitting, I had already singled out three tracks that I loved:

• Gregg Karukas – Looking Up
• Euge Groove – Just Feels Right
• Joe McBride & The Texas Rhythm Club – Oi Gata
  

If I had to choose a word to define that extra element, I would have to say it is sensuality. That perfect cocktail of harmonic mystery, romanticism and sensuality. The scenes conjured by these two sub-genres are contrasting. Traditional Jazz trio ballads transport me to a dimly-lit bar, soft cushions, a glass of port in my hand, and the woman I love sitting beside me in gentle embrace. Smooth Jazz transports me to a beach setting, the gentle breeze cascading upon the palm leaves, the waves lapping the shore, the sunset upon the horizon.

Smooth Jazz melodies tend to be more well-defined than their Traditional Jazz counterparts, their rhythms a combination of rock and Latin. Perhaps somewhere in that combination lies the middle ground I seek between the creativity of Traditional Jazz, the sentimentality of contemporary rock ballads, and the sensuality of the Latin beat.

Don't get me wrong. It is not that I no longer enjoy the Traditional Jazz trio setting where the seeds of my love for jazz were first planted. Also, not all Smooth Jazz music contains that perfect combination of harmonic creativity, mystery and sensuality that I seek. But as and when I stumble upon the occasional smooth jazz track that brings that added touch of sensuality, it evokes the kind of passions that pulsate through my veins. Without sounding titillating in any way, if ever there was a music genre that could truly be called music for making love, my vote would go to Smooth Jazz.

I suspect this is but a transient phase in my lifelong journey of music. In all probability, I will eventually settle down to a steady state where my love for jazz will straddle between both Traditional and Smooth – and which one I prefer will be temporal, and governed by my mood and surroundings.