Three contemporary jazz titans have some good, clean fun with their renowned polish left intact.

There’s almost nothing they can’t do, as this project so amply shows.

A gateway to straight jazz? No, because if you embrace this music, you’ve already gone through gates and are heading down its fascinating corridors.

Fresh from the fusion triumph of A Beautiful Bang, Columbus, Ohio’s fo/mo/deep is poised to take listeners on another funky ride through the fun side of jazz.

The last time New Orleanian saxophonist Clarence Johnson III made a record, it was still the 1900s. You May Also Like: Julee Johnson, “So on Top of the World” (2020): One Track Mind

One of the bands often cited as a progenitor of smooth jazz and one of the style’s best known names, Spyro Gyra is also one of the most atypical acts of the form. You May Also Like: Tritone Asylum – ‘The Hideaway Sessions’ (2022)

Saxophonist Najee has been a major figure in smooth jazz right from the get-go with his debut Najee’s Theme (1986), which came out smack dab in the middle of the genre’s emergence into a popular music style onto its own. You May Also Like: Lindsey Webster – ‘Reasons’ (2022)

June, 2011 was a bittersweet time for Jeff Golub. He had released The Three Kings that month, a blues-themed record that won this successful crossover jazz guitarist wide acclaim You May Also Like: Brian Groder Trio – R Train on the D Line (2016)

If the idea of smooth jazz makes you cringe, we’ve got some great news for you: It ain’t all bad.

So yesterday I read Matthew Shipp’s review of Keith Jarrett’s latest album Somewhere, or least ostensibly, it was a review. You May Also Like: Ivo Perelman, with Matthew Shipp + Joe Morris – ‘Shamanism’ (2020)