Houston just lost its Smooth Jazz station. So did New York City. And Milwaukee. Most have found new homes in the emerging HD radio market or online. All were replaced by stations directed at larger and younger audiences. Our own 95.7 FM now boasts a "hot Latin-tinged dance" format. Is this beginning of the end for Smooth Jazz at large? Let's be honest, this term "Smooth Jazz" is the marketing equivalent of wearing a "Kick Me" sign in an elementary school lunch room; one that parallels New Coke or McDonald's selling Lattes. A more appropriate description is "Instrumental Pop". In fact, that's just what the Grammy people call it. It may lack punch, but it's accurate (even if there are a few vocal numbers thrown in here and there). At the same time it serves a purpose, catering to the demand of a 35 to 55 year old professional demographic. Of course, the mere existence of this music is anathema to jazz purists. Yet the long-term effects of Smooth Jazz on the rest of the jazz community might actually work in their favor. Could it be that one feeds the other? Or to be more direct, could it be that the sales in this Smooth Jazz market are helping maintain the all-but-dead market of jazz? For every Chris Botti, there are a 1000 unknown jazz artists not selling hundreds of thousands of records. However those 1000 artists may not have received records deals in the first place had it not been for the success of Botti and others like him. In other words, instrumental pop records are buoying the industry. Blue Note, the oldest and most esteemed of all jazz labels, now sells more Smooth Jazz than anything else in its fabled catalog. Interestingly, the lion's share of hit records in this format have been the mastermind of a fella named Paul Brown out in LA. Brown is smooth jazz's Teo Macero. The Phil Spector of easy listening. His resume is so jam-packed with brand names, one wonders: did he actually invent this genre? To quote the GRP web site: "The oft-imitated but never equaled producer, composer and arranger has been the primary architect of the genre's urban sound for close to 15 years, scoring over 40 #1 airplay hits for genre stars like Boney James, Rick Braun, Peter White, Kirk Whalum, Euge Groove, Norman Brown, Patti Austin, Larry Carlton and legendary labelmates Al Jarreau and ... George Benson." Truly fascinating: one man's vision produces an entire genre with a network of supporting radio stations. Before Paul Brown we were clinging to the less successful "Contemporary Jazz" tag which included artists whose jazzy ambitions prevented wider appeal. The Yellowjackets? Forget it. Too many notes. But Boney, now that's money. Add three backing vocalists to remind us of the aging pop tune being covered and bingo, nostalgia radio is born! Ultimately as the term 'jazz' finds its way in disparate genres, the resulting confusion creates opportunities. Most listeners don't obsess on the finer points of genre taxonomies. They end up hiring a local jazz group for an event or buying a new jazz CD because they've been enjoying the music on the radio and want more of it. Perhaps it's blind optimism, but I maintain that smooth jazz or instrumental pop, if you will, is a good thing because it helps keep other flavors of the jazz world healthy (and its musician's employed). So while it risks becoming an artifact of passing trends, it's more likely that it will rebrand itself and continue serving the needs of the mellowing middle-aged masses. As for me, I will miss WAVE 95.7 FM. Not only for the reasons of economy previously mentioned (i.e., it really did create gigs and they were fantastic promoters of local artists), but also because it sparked conversations on jazz with non-musicians who simply enjoyed the station. And that can only be a good thing. Adieu. Online: KHJZ