Dave Koz doesn’t give the REAL reason the format is dying. It was never REALLY “smooth jazz.”
You can’t compile a list of smooth jazz’s signature artists and not include Dave Koz.
The saxophonist released his self-titled debut nearly 20 years ago and his “You Make Me Smile” easily ranks among the genre’s best known and most played tracks ever since it first hit the airwaves in 1993. In addition, Koz’s radio show, which he has hosted for 15 years, is syndicated in markets across the country. Even the man’s public persona – amiable, tasteful, talented – seems to reflect the smooth jazz fan’s ideal.
Both as performer and broadcaster, then, Koz has done well by the smooth jazz radio format. When asked about its precipitous decline, however, Koz offered a no-nonsense opinion that borders on biting the hand that feeds him.
I contacted Koz regarding his 12th annual Christmas tour, which includes stops December 11 in San Francisco, December 15 in Santa Rosa and December 18 in Sacramento. I’ll post the holiday-themed portions of the interview as we get closer to those dates, but here’s what Koz had to say about the format.
Question: There's been a goodly amount of media coverage this year about smooth jazz radio's demise. To your mind, what is causing the decline and what, if anything, can be done to turn it around?
Koz: Everything in life has an ebb and flow. Smooth jazz radio has been flourishing for around 20 years – which is an amazing amount of time for any niche format. But as the audience has aged (and not enough younger people have come to the format), it’s been a tougher entity to sell to advertisers … and, like it or not, that is the lifeline of radio.
But while many of the stations have flipped over the past year, the audience is still VERY much there, loving and appreciating the music. We’ve been seeing that with the huge crowds coming to see the shows this holiday season, especially in cities who’ve lost their smooth jazz station. That’s a great thing, because it proves that the music and audience are very much alive.
This format may move from a big, major-market genre to more of a smaller-market genre – and the web-based stations may become increasingly more popular. But I don’t think it’s the worst thing that could happen that big stations have abandoned smooth jazz. Every once in a while, a good shake up is needed to re-inspire the musicians making the music, to re-energize the fan base and to re-calibrate the way we look at music. There are so many changes that are upon us, not just in music, but in every facet of life … and I think that’s a good thing.
Time to stop complaining about it not being the way it used to be … and start embracing the way it is and the way it’s going to be in the future … whatever that may be! Hello, Tomorrow.
via Dave Koz: ‘Stop complaining’ about smooth jazz radio’s decline.
“Smooth Jazz” was never a pure format and that IS the real reason for its decline. In radio industry lingo, it was actually termed, “New Adult Contemporary”, which allowed for a conglomeration of Pop, Soft Rock, R&B and THEN Smooth Jazz songs to be played. That is proposterous! Imagine mixing Blues, Reggae, Folk & Country and then calling it strictly a Country Music format! It would never work. But yet, that’s what “they” did with Smooth Jazz. You can search my blog on this site earlier this year that gave a more comprehensive background of what Smooth Jazz REALLY is. For the time being, internet radio WILL have to take over this format, as it has done very well with for some time now. Be on the lookout for my show “Jazzpirations”.
Sorry folks the link is http://www.mywonderlandvibe.com for Smooth Jazz listening.