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Is improvisational jazz to impressionism art as smooth jazz is to realism art?

So, I’ll acknowledge up front, I’m an engineer. Civilian and Warfighter lives can be in the balance depending on whether our company products perform as required or not. As a result, I try very hard to drive the entropic world we live in towards black and white as much as possible. I need to put order to chaos. When i look at art, impressionistic art requires a lot of mental work to make sense of. I just don't see it or get it, appreciate it or like it. I also find, as hard as i may try to enjoy improvisational jazz, that i don't get it, appreciate it, or like it. Instead, I love Realism art and instrumental smooth jazz!!
Reading from Audiogon forum pages for a couple of years now, i feel like i should feel inferior because 1. I don’t appreciate the free flow of expression that is improvisational jazz and 2. I love that there is a tune and thread in smooth jazz. I love the guitar artistry of Chuck Loeb, Chris Standring, and Acoustic Alchemy; the trumpet expressions of Rick Braun, Cindy Bradley, and Chris Botti; and the bass works of Brian Bromberg. 
I’m curious if there are many others out there that equate order (or lack there-of) in their music tastes to that of their taste in the visual arts?
Also, are there many other music lovers who would rather enjoy a good smooth jazz listening session than improvisational jazz?  If so, who do you listen to?
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Showing 5 responses by facten

facten
2,726 posts
 
@estreams - At the end of the day whether or not others disdand smoothjazz doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t enjoy it, I sure do.

A partial list of groups/artists I enjoy: Rippingtons, Four Play, Roman Street, Lyndsey Webster, Gerald Albright, Quentin Gerard W. , Brian Simpson, Steve Oliver, Jeffrey Smith, Randy Scott, Chris "Big Dog ’ Davis, Marc Antonie, Tom Braxton , Braxton Brothers, Randall Clark, Tony Saunders, Darryl Williams, Nate White, Boney James, Marrion Meadows, Blake Aaron, Billy Ray Shepard, Norman Brown, Silk, Streetwise, Julian Vaughn, Acoustic Alchemy, Stanley Clarke, Blair Bryant, Special EFX, Smoothjazz Alley, Patrick Bradley, Four 80 East, Paul Brown , Roberto Vally, Jeff Lorber, etc. Likewise some "in-between" the two - Steve Khan, John McLaughlin, Alex Skolnick Trio, Simon Phiilips




facten
2,726 posts
 
If you don’t know that John McGlaughlin plays jazz fusion than read up

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McLaughlin_(musician)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McLaughlin_(musician)#The_Mahavishnu_Orchestra
facten
2,726 posts
 
@stuartk

" @facten:
I’m curious: which John McLaughlin recordings qualify as Smooth Jazz????? "

Read my post closer I didn’t say he plays smoothjazz - I noted a few artists that I said fall "in between the two" , meaning between smooth and classic - jazz fusion. Clearer for you now ?????????????????????
facten
2,726 posts
 
@stuartK

" As it happens, I’m very familiar with John McLaughlin-- I’ve been listening to him since 1972.

However, I have never heard anything by him that resembles Smooth Jazz in any way or anything midway between Smooth Jazz and Fusion.

In fact, I was hoping you would provide the titles of some of his records that would provide examples of such playing. I hope I have made things clearer! "

Guess I continued to not make it clear or you continue to simply misread my posts - I did not state that JM plays smoothjazz, nor did I say that he plays anything in between smoothjazz and jazz fusion. In my 1st post I mentioned him as an artist I listed that falls, at least in my opinion, between smooth and classic jazz. In my 2nd post I stated the "in between smoothjazz and classic " was jazz fusion and that he plays jazz fusion . So I can’t provide you with some examples of JM playing a hybrid smooth/fusion
facten
2,726 posts
 
Like I said now for the 4th time I never said that JM plays smoothjazz but you keep insisting that I have. As far as my using the term classic I was thinking of Miles, Charlie Parker  and the like. If  you google classic jazz those and other artists come up . End of story, done with you
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