Smooth jazz

Smooth jazz is generally described as a genre of music that utilizes instruments (and, at times, improvisation) traditionally associated with jazz and styli

Smooth jazz is generally described as a genre of music that utilizes instruments (and, at times, improvisation) traditionally associated with jazz and stylistic influences drawn from, among other sources, funk, pop and R&B. Since the late 1980s, it has become highly successful as a radio format; one can tune in to a "smooth jazz"-themed station nearly everywhere in the United States. Despite its apparently large following, there has been something of a backlash against the genre, mostly from jazz purists who consider its recordings bland and overly commercial.

Smooth jazz as it is known today first emerged in the mid- to late-1970s, pioneered by such artists as Grover Washington, Jr., Spyro Gyra and Pieces of a Dream, stemming from a number of extant styles including jazz fusion. Unlike that form, however, smooth jazz tends to emphasize melody and deemphasize improvisation.