In straight-ahead jazz and more experimental realms, it’s a given that times are tough: Album sales are negligible, musicians are underpaid and underexposed, and careers are increasingly punishing, do-it-yourself affairs. It’s sometimes assumed that “smooth jazz,” the lighter and glossier pop-jazz that came into heavy rotation in the ’80s and ’90s, must be where the [...]
Kirk Whalum Brings Smooth Jazz Sensibilities to John Coltrane
August 3, 2012 | Posted by
It was a question — or, at the least, a consideration — that sat in the back of Kirk Whalum’s mind as he assembled his newest album: “What would John Coltrane think?” Those who have experienced Whalum’s Grammy-winning music over the past 27 years would probably never contemplate such a query. Both artists can be [...]
