Any smooth jazz fans out there?

Smooth jazz is too slippery to vilify outright. Pat Metheny, Oregon, Jan Garbarek, even the great Jim Hall & Bill Evans play both sides of the fence.

Much of it is bubblegum. However I keep returning to early Larry Carlton, particularly "Sleepwalk."

Strateahed, a cogent analysis of the scene and of Kenny G as a transitional figure. In an interview he once admitted that he mostly practices in front of a bathroom mirror-- certainly the best place for Mr. G to stroke his instrument.

I guess I need to revisit my twenty or so David Murray albums to examine his connection to "smooth jazz." A grand slam of '80s Black Saint full of originals & Ellington, Strayhorn, Coltrane, Alyer, etc., accompanied by the likes of Joe Chambers, Henry Threadgill, James Blood Ulmer, Don Pullen, Billy Higgins, Ed Blackwell, Lester Bowie, McCoy Tyner. Not to mention the early '90s with Shakill's Warrior, Fast Life, Black & Black, Special Quartet. Yes one loses interest later on, but in terms of productivity, diversity(with sidebars into theater and dance), longevity,and the company he kept, Murray's place in the canon is secure. You could make a stronger case for Chet Baker than for David Murray in connection to smooth jazz.