Any smooth jazz fans out there?


I've really become quite the smooth jazz fan over these past few years having Sirius radio and the Watercolors station. I've taken a liking to Brian Hughes smooth jazz guitar. Anyone know him? He's from California and performs that west coast sound. If you've ever heard the background music on the Weather Channel when they broadcast weather on the 8's, that's Brian Hughes. Listen over a great sound system and you'll love it. Also names such as Lee Ritenour, Larry Carlton, Fourplay, Norman Brown, Euge Groove, Paul Taylor, Peter White, and the of course Spyro Gyra. Any feedback?
pdn
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. When it's used to cast a negative view is unproductive when the OP was looking for positive results. This is getting ugly.
Nobody likes to have their feelings hurt... it's not pleasant. Hearing weak, phony, auto pilot musical cliches that mimic jazz can also be pretty unpleasant. It's not hard to see how people who dig great under recognized musicians perceive a foul stench of injustice when subjected to smooth jazz popularity. Quite a few practitioners are highly skilled and manage to sneak in bits that aren't completely tepid or stale, but most recordings that get trotted out as smooth jazz are sort of like plastic flowers, a waste of petroleum and a poor, (or maybe even a crappy) representation of the real thing. If someone who likes Kenny G or the Yellowjackets says Mingus, Tim Berne or Monk sucks, most jazz freaks would probably just laugh w/no hurt feelings at all.
PDN, my apologies if I offended you. I'm sure you did not expect this thread to descend the way it did.
I like some, and hate some. My thinking is Smooth Jazz is to Jazz as Pop is to Rock. Some of it is catchy, but it's very easy to tire. Some of it is immediately annoying and/or trite. Then there is some that I can listen to a lot (eg, Dave Grusin, Pat Metheny, George Benson)
What makes me upset is how some people don't really care about what the Op is asking about. They just have to throw in their 2 cents worth of negativity to get some sort of reaction they know would be coming. Just looking for a juicy thread to start rolling. Plenty of that here. Hateful people.

As I stated in an earlier post, I really don't know why I read these posts. Many replies are spiteful, or negative. I waste 10 minutes every time I read the forums. I will now cease. It's been nice reading the majority of you. Best of luck in your quests.