What was the Origins of Smooth Jazz name? and the Quiet Storm?

[recto101]

I noticed that most commercial Smooth Jazz stations today tend to use the Quiet Storm approach meaning they use some Smooth R&B, soul music, and some Chill in the playlists. I think the radio form of Smooth Jazz/NAC/Quiet Storm originated from KBLX in San Francisco and they advertized themselves as "The Quiet Storm" to refer to the current commercial smooth jazz/Smooth R&B format back in the 1990's. Then another S.F. Smooth AC station in 1987 called KKSF came in an they did the same thing like use Smooth Jazz/Smooth R&B but with one twist they included New Age on Sunday Mornings and Classic Jazz Sunday Evenings and promoted themselves as the Smoothest Place on Radio.
I think Smooth AC fails because of Marketing but they live on in the Web

 

[AnotherCat]

The term "Smooth Jazz" actually came about when WNUA was doing a research project and a listener described the music they were playing as "Smooth Jazz." They started using it and when a big name station does something everyone else stops, drops, and follows so by 93-94 a lot of stations and brunch shows were beginning to use "Smooth Jazz." It was a lot less of a mouthfull than "contemporary jazz" or terms like "NAC/New Adult Contemporary" or "Progressive A/C" which were things industry peeps understood but were not really resonating with the audience. Or "Adult Alternative" - which we had to share with the rock/singer-songwriter based formats too - That's why originally "Adult Alternative" was used to describe the instrumental/progressive A-C vocal/R&B mix and "Album Adult Alternative" described the rock-singer/songwriter based format. AAA. (whew!)

"Quiet Storm" was the name of a Smokey Robinson song from the 70s and it just seemed to be a very descriptive term for the mood of the the jazzier, more emotional ballad oriented side of the R&B genre at the time. Stations that played late night jazz/R&B mixes started picking up on it and it trickeld down into the stations that picked up the format full time to target adult R&B listeners. (like KBLX)

When NAC/PAC evolved into Smooth Jazz the format shed the pop-rock-world flavor and started to focus more on the mood of the Quiet Storm format, a mellower, darker, moodier, R&B driven sound than the earlier versions of the format and when BA/SW Network put out the original syndicated format in '95 it was called "Smooth Jazz" and featured the mellow, darker sound and R&B lean. Why? There's really no rational reason..just because the people who created and syndicated the format decided that was the way to go - and so it was. (I'm sure they would say their research backed that decision but you can always create a study to back the decision you have already decided to make...)

Then over the last 15 years all the fun and entertaining elements of the music were filtered out of the radio format. They are still there in abundance in the deeper tracks of new CDs but not on satellite or terrestrial radio.

Pre-consolidation, NAC and AAA were the true Adult Alternatives..formats that featured music for grownups who wanted to hear new music (and types of music) created by and for adults.. Both these formats were stripped of almost all of the elements that made them exciting when consolidation happened and corporate owners believed that after you turned 30 you not only didn't want to hear new music and artists, but you were downright afraid of anything beyond the "songs you grew up with."

 

[recto101]

The term "Smooth Jazz" actually came about when WNUA was doing a research project and a listener described the music they were playing as "Smooth Jazz." They started using it and when a big name station does something everyone else stops, drops, and follows so by 93-94 a lot of stations and brunch shows were beginning to use "Smooth Jazz." It was a lot less of a mouthfull than "contemporary jazz" or terms like "NAC/New Adult Contemporary" or "Progressive A/C" which were things industry peeps understood but were not really resonating with the audience. Or "Adult Alternative" - which we had to share with the rock/singer-songwriter based formats too - That's why originally "Adult Alternative" was used to describe the instrumental/progressive A-C vocal/R&B mix and "Album Adult Alternative" described the rock-singer/songwriter based format. AAA. (whew!)

"Quiet Storm" was the name of a Smokey Robinson song from the 70s and it just seemed to be a very descriptive term for the mood of the the jazzier, more emotional ballad oriented side of the R&B genre at the time. Stations that played late night jazz/R&B mixes started picking up on it and it trickeld down into the stations that picked up the format full time to target adult R&B listeners. (like KBLX)

When NAC/PAC evolved into Smooth Jazz the format shed the pop-rock-world flavor and started to focus more on the mood of the Quiet Storm format, a mellower, darker, moodier, R&B driven sound than the earlier versions of the format and when BA/SW Network put out the original syndicated format in '95 it was called "Smooth Jazz" and featured the mellow, darker sound and R&B lean. Why? There's really no rational reason..just because the people who created and syndicated the format decided that was the way to go - and so it was. (I'm sure they would say their research backed that decision but you can always create a study to back the decision you have already decided to make...)

Then over the last 15 years all the fun and entertaining elements of the music were filtered out of the radio format. They are still there in abundance in the deeper tracks of new CDs but not on satellite or terrestrial radio.

Pre-consolidation, NAC and AAA were the true Adult Alternatives..formats that featured music for grownups who wanted to hear new music (and types of music) created by and for adults.. Both these formats were stripped of almost all of the elements that made them exciting when consolidation happened and corporate owners believed that after you turned 30 you not only didn't want to hear new music and artists, but you were downright afraid of anything beyond the "songs you grew up with."

I noticed that

 

[recto101]

I noticed that KFOG in San Francisco "World Class Rock" station on Sunday Mornings do Acoustic Sunrise meaning that they have done some of the Classic rock songs in New Age form. Alice and KFOG do Chill music on their playlists. I heard some Airchecks of KTWV and KKSF back in the 1980's and 1990's and they were using Chill and New Age along with Smooth Jazz in the Playlists. In the Case of KFOG they used New Age, Blues, Classic Rock, 2000's rock, Reggae and Chill in the Playlists.

 

[davideduardo]

The term "Smooth Jazz" actually came about when WNUA was doing a research project and a listener described the music they were playing as "Smooth Jazz."

Station positioners often come out of perceptual research. In this case, the project was a series of one-on-one's conducted by Broadcast Architecture's Owen Leach, one of the best interviewers I've ever known. In fact, it was Leach who determined that radio should not use focus groups but, instead, individual in dept interviews.

In reviewing the videos of the interviews, the listener-originated "smooth jazz" jumped out as a clear listener-relatable description and a viable positioner, particularly since licencing issues with Westinghouse made the use of The Wave a non-option.

When NAC/PAC evolved into Smooth Jazz

NAC and PAC were internal names or descriptors for the format. "Smooth Jazz" is a listener focused term. The former are for a column in R&R, the other is for on air use.

...There's really no rational reason..just because the people who created and syndicated the format decided that was the way to go - and so it was.

Actually, the format was first syndicated by BA and Westinghouse just a little after the intial success of KTWV, and the research was nothing more than the ongoing testing of the format against the regular listeners of the format.

(I'm sure they would say their research backed that decision but you can always create a study to back the decision you have already decided to make...)

Since a music test is not a perceptual project, but, rather a "voting" on each of hundreds and hundreds of possible songs, unless the recruit is totally messed up, the results are quite reliable.

Pre-consolidation, NAC and AAA were the true Adult Alternatives..formats that featured music for grownups who wanted to hear new music (and types of music) created by and for adults..

Mass adult audiences tend to want a large dose of familiar music and a tiny dose of new songs. Smooth jazz simply moved along with the preferences of the listeners until the format aged to the point that sales were impacted.

Both these formats were stripped of almost all of the elements that made them exciting when consolidation happened and corporate owners believed that after you turned 30 you not only didn't want to hear new music and artists, but you were downright afraid of anything beyond the "songs you grew up with."

Consolidation has really nothing to do with the format, as program directors program and the listeners determine the music and direction of it... not "corporations."

 

[recto101]

The term "Smooth Jazz" actually came about when WNUA was doing a research project and a listener described the music they were playing as "Smooth Jazz."

Station positioners often come out of perceptual research. In this case, the project was a series of one-on-one's conducted by Broadcast Architecture's Owen Leach, one of the best interviewers I've ever known. In fact, it was Leach who determined that radio should not use focus groups but, instead, individual in dept interviews.

In reviewing the videos of the interviews, the listener-originated "smooth jazz" jumped out as a clear listener-relatable description and a viable positioner, particularly since licencing issues with Westinghouse made the use of The Wave a non-option.

When NAC/PAC evolved into Smooth Jazz

NAC and PAC were internal names or descriptors for the format. "Smooth Jazz" is a listener focused term. The former are for a column in R&R, the other is for on air use.

...There's really no rational reason..just because the people who created and syndicated the format decided that was the way to go - and so it was.

Actually, the format was first syndicated by BA and Westinghouse just a little after the intial success of KTWV, and the research was nothing more than the ongoing testing of the format against the regular listeners of the format.

(I'm sure they would say their research backed that decision but you can always create a study to back the decision you have already decided to make...)

Since a music test is not a perceptual project, but, rather a "voting" on each of hundreds and hundreds of possible songs, unless the recruit is totally messed up, the results are quite reliable.

Pre-consolidation, NAC and AAA were the true Adult Alternatives..formats that featured music for grownups who wanted to hear new music (and types of music) created by and for adults..

Mass adult audiences tend to want a large dose of familiar music and a tiny dose of new songs. Smooth jazz simply moved along with the preferences of the listeners until the format aged to the point that sales were impacted.

Both these formats were stripped of almost all of the elements that made them exciting when consolidation happened and corporate owners believed that after you turned 30 you not only didn't want to hear new music and artists, but you were downright afraid of anything beyond the "songs you grew up with."

Consolidation has really nothing to do with the format, as program directors program and the listeners determine the music and direction of it... not "corporations."

94.7 the wave needs to be called 94.7 The Quiet Storm

 

[majaman78]

<<<94.7 the wave needs to be called 94.7 The Quiet Storm>>>

94.7 The Wave should be called Soft AC. S.O.S. would be a better term.

Nothing more and nothing less.

Call it like it is!

 

[JakeLongwell]

Some very interesting background and history in this thread. I always wondered about the origins of the term "smooth jazz" myself.

Personally, I would love to see a return to the sound the format had in the late 80s and early 90s. Having listened to some airchecks from that time that were posted in an earlier thread on this board, ("The Breeze" from 1989/90). it seems to me the format was much more liberal in terms of its playlist. I only wish there were more airchecks from this era floating around on the internet. I would love to hear them.

 

[majaman78]

Some very interesting background and history in this thread. I always wondered about the origins of the term "smooth jazz" myself.

Personally, I would love to see a return to the sound the format had in the late 80s and early 90s. Having listened to some airchecks from that time that were posted in an earlier thread on this board, ("The Breeze" from 1989/90). it seems to me the format was much more liberal in terms of its playlist. I only wish there were more airchecks from this era floating around on the internet. I would love to hear them.

You and millions of others would love a return to those days (when the format was fresh and exciting...it still could be with all of the great unknown cuts and artists out there), but terrestrial won't be the way to go since they've gotten run into the ground by money grubbing corporate thugs now choking on their own long term debt. So their only option is to saturate the airwaves with the same sh*t they are paid off to play (i.e. Broadcrap Architecture).

Smaller, better run outlets now only reside on the 'net. But that's the future and I'm happy with the way things are progressing for the format.

Good riddance terrestrial, you won't be missed. ;D

 

[recto101]

<<<94.7 the wave needs to be called 94.7 The Quiet Storm>>>

94.7 The Wave should be called Soft AC. S.O.S. would be a better term.

Nothing more and nothing less.

Call it like it is!

Look at KKSF it was call Smooth Jazz because they Wanted to use KBLX's Playlist without getting sued

 

[spiritof67]

The Breeze, KCLC

Jake, as the one who posted the airchecks of The Breeze, I can tell you that their playlist was broader than the NAC's that existed at the time.

The network was a mom & pop operation based out of Minneapolis (run by Jack Moore and programmed by his son Rob), and was an outgrowth of a local Twin Cities radio station called KTWN. KTWN had a jazz format from the late 1970's until 1983. KTWN flipped to oldies and is now known as KOOL 108. Moore continued a jazz service on cable and eventually launched The Breeze in the fall of 1987. The network played many of the current artists other NAC's played, however they also added a large amount of older contemporary jazz, independent artists, and the occasional local artists (Michael Monroe for example). Its sound was radically different than KTWV, KKSF, or the Satellite Music Network version of The Wave (which morphed into their classic rock format and closed down in 1990).

It also wasn't commercially viable, and I knew it. That's why I rolled tape. The network had between 20 and 30 affiliates in 1988. By 1990, the network could not pay their bills, and in January 1991 suddenly disappeared from the satellite. Some affiliates got advanced warning, and others didn't and had dead air (they went off the air on a Friday at 6 PM).

I enjoyed their quirky mix, and I've enjoyed sharing what I recorded.

Another station I recorded is KCLC, which is based out of Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO. KCLC had a similar format to The Breeze from 1991 to 2002, and thankfully never morphed into what we now consider "Smooth Jazz." You can access my airchecks of KCLC at this folder:

http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?action=profile;u=34230

Best Wishes

spiritof67

 

[NoMoreLurking]

Look at KKSF it was call Smooth Jazz because they Wanted to use KBLX's Playlist without getting sued

OK, you started the thread with a question about the origin of the Smooth Jazz name. Now you answer it, and incorrectly at that!

There was no lawsuit threat, and KKSF did not use KBLX's playlist...the two were very different radio stations at all times, except perhaps in the way they were used by their listeners, that is, for mood and relaxation.

 

[recto101]

Look at KKSF it was call Smooth Jazz because they Wanted to use KBLX's Playlist without getting sued

OK, you started the thread with a question about the origin of the Smooth Jazz name. Now you answer it, and incorrectly at that!

There was no lawsuit threat, and KKSF did not use KBLX's playlist...the two were very different radio stations at all times, except perhaps in the way they were used by their listeners, that is, for mood and relaxation.

your correct but look at KKSF and KBLX they both used Smooth Jazz and Soft R&B. At one time Kenny G was played alot on KBLX and was listed under Soft R&B at the time when Songbird was used. I think Kenny G, Dave Koz, Rick Braun, George Benson and other instrumental Smooth Jazz artists who style their music in R&B form should be renamed instrumental R&B and should be played on stations on KBLX. Peter White is more on the side where he lands more closer to New Age. But Peter White is a great artist who should be on Acoustic Sunrise on the AAA stations like KFOG.