Smooth jazz

Smooth jazz is generally described as a subset of jazz that combinines instruments (and, at times, improvisation) traditionally associated with its parent genre 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.

Major smooth jazz-producing record labels

• GRP
• Heads Up
• Higher Octave
• Instinct
• N-Coded Music
• Narada Productions
• Native Language
• Peak
• Shanachie
• Windham Hill