The .wav

[Radical348]

Still been listening for the past week and still love it but Taylor Swift has GOT to go...

Appreciate the feedback, man.  I realize a number of these vocals are polarizing, and the transitions may be awkward for regular listeners.  I continue to evaluate and re-evaluate, add and delete tracks, and massage the code.  As long as you and other listeners understand this is a work in progress and a longterm strategy with an underlying goal of expanding appeal for the format to a new generation (younger demo) of listeners while minimizing alienation of the base, I am hoping you all can deal with an occasional surprise tune/artist here and there.  I prefer not to go in the Beyonce direction others have chosen to take---I think the Urban Contemporary/Hip Hop route is the easy and predictable way to go.  My goal is to be unpredictable, a controlled form of chaos that somehow comes together with pleasing melodies.  I am going for the AOR and Soft Rock-type vocals from yesterday, and more Pop/Rock/AAA/Chill vocals from today.  My thinking is, if I can go deep with current Pop/Soft A/C artists with name recognition, but find more downtempo and less-Pop sounding stuff, I might be able to pull it off.  But admittedly, some of the tunes are a little too Pop-sounding for an instrumental heavy presentation, and won't last long in the rotation.

I understand...and I'm certainly glad you're not going the Beyonce direction!   I just thought that Taylor Swift was a bit too jarring (both vocally and instrumentally) but, I would believe that even that song could sound decent in the proper flow.

I really like your idea of throwing in pop/rock/AAA/chill vocals.  AAA is my favorite format and I had been thinking there were a lot of songs that could go back & forth between AAA (and even the more electric/lighter Alternative tracks) & Smooth Jazz.  Have you checked out The National or Iron & Wine?  What do you think about Radiohead or Coldplay?  Not everything by these bands would fit, but I think they have more than a few songs that could work. ("Lotus Flower" or "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" comes to mind for Radiohead...and for Coldplay, "Trouble," "The Hardest Part," & maybe "Life in Technicolor."  John Mayer has some tracks that could work too...perhaps "Clarity," or a few tracks off his first album..."Neon" & "Back to You" come to mind.  (Just not "Daughters," please.)  Wilco has a few tracks that would work, such as "Jesus Etc" or "Handshake Drugs."  I remember thinking Cake could be pretty jazzy, although maybe his vocals might be a bit too out there.

What do you think about some new wave songs?  They and smooth jazz songs both share the common ground of synthesizers and electronica.  Some of the lighter hits could work.  I had always thought that Duran Duran's "Ordinary World" or Pet Shop Boys' "West End Girls" would fit on Smooth Jazz quite well.
 The Blue Nile is another good band (especially recommend "The Downtown Lights".)  Even something like The Cure's remake of "Purple Haze" or Thomas Dolby's "I Love You Goodbye" would work. (The latter, which I add, sounds REALLY good next to Kevin Toney's "Kings" -- I played Kings after ILYG on my alt. radio show regularly, and nobody batted an eye!)

[AC Tones]

Thanks for the feedback!!  Looking hard at the new wave stuff from the early 80s.  Already added cuts from Men At Work, The Cure, Duran Duran, Roxy Music, et al.  Definitely need to look at Dolby and Pet Shop Boys, particularly their deeper cuts.

I want to avoid the grungy, folksy, acoustic-heavy AAA.  There is a lot of it out there.  I want to add the more melodic tunes that have crossover appeal.  Definitely going to look at some of the cuts you suggested.  Not surprised your listeners did not bat an eye when you spun Kevin Toney's "Kings."  That's sharp programming.  The transition was seamless and refreshing for your listeners because they had faith in you and what you were doing.  That's eventually where I want to get when my listeners hear some of these vocals.  I want them to be pleasantly surprised instead of put off.  It's going to take awhile, but I think eventually I be able to win over even diehard instrumentalists. 

[AC Tones]

Still been listening for the past week and still love it but Taylor Swift has GOT to go...

Appreciate the feedback, man.  I realize a number of these vocals are polarizing, and the transitions may be awkward for regular listeners.  I continue to evaluate and re-evaluate, add and delete tracks, and massage the code.  As long as you and other listeners understand this is a work in progress and a longterm strategy with an underlying goal of expanding appeal for the format to a new generation (younger demo) of listeners while minimizing alienation of the base, I am hoping you all can deal with an occasional surprise tune/artist here and there.  I prefer not to go in the Beyonce direction others have chosen to take---I think the Urban Contemporary/Hip Hop route is the easy and predictable way to go.  My goal is to be unpredictable, a controlled form of chaos that somehow comes together with pleasing melodies.  I am going for the AOR and Soft Rock-type vocals from yesterday, and more Pop/Rock/AAA/Chill vocals from today.  My thinking is, if I can go deep with current Pop/Soft A/C artists with name recognition, but find more downtempo and less-Pop sounding stuff, I might be able to pull it off.  But admittedly, some of the tunes are a little too Pop-sounding for an instrumental heavy presentation, and won't last long in the rotation.

I understand...and I'm certainly glad you're not going the Beyonce direction!   I just thought that Taylor Swift was a bit too jarring (both vocally and instrumentally) but, I would believe that even that song could sound decent in the proper flow.

I really like your idea of throwing in pop/rock/AAA/chill vocals.  AAA is my favorite format and I had been thinking there were a lot of songs that could go back & forth between AAA (and even the more electric/lighter Alternative tracks) & Smooth Jazz.  Have you checked out The National or Iron & Wine?  What do you think about Radiohead or Coldplay?  Not everything by these bands would fit, but I think they have more than a few songs that could work. ("Lotus Flower" or "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" comes to mind for Radiohead...and for Coldplay, "Trouble," "The Hardest Part," & maybe "Life in Technicolor."  John Mayer has some tracks that could work too...perhaps "Clarity," or a few tracks off his first album..."Neon" & "Back to You" come to mind.  (Just not "Daughters," please.)  Wilco has a few tracks that would work, such as "Jesus Etc" or "Handshake Drugs."  I remember thinking Cake could be pretty jazzy, although maybe his vocals might be a bit too out there.

What do you think about some new wave songs?  They and smooth jazz songs both share the common ground of synthesizers and electronica.  Some of the lighter hits could work.  I had always thought that Duran Duran's "Ordinary World" or Pet Shop Boys' "West End Girls" would fit on Smooth Jazz quite well.
 The Blue Nile is another good band (especially recommend "The Downtown Lights".)  Even something like The Cure's remake of "Purple Haze" or Thomas Dolby's "I Love You Goodbye" would work. (The latter, which I add, sounds REALLY good next to Kevin Toney's "Kings" -- I played Kings after ILYG on my alt. radio show regularly, and nobody batted an eye!)

Terrific AAA suggestions, BTW.  Found some real nice cuts from The National and Iron & Wine that definitely work.  And COMPETELY agree with the synthy/electronica sound of the second British invasion that got cut off at the knees.  Been sampling a lot of it lately, and I am surprised how much of it never made it to mainstream radio back then.

[Nock]

Still been listening for the past week and still love it but Taylor Swift has GOT to go...

 The Blue Nile is another good band (especially recommend "The Downtown Lights".) 

Wow someone else who know's Blue Nile.  Played them regularly on my show.  Little known fact, Chris Botti, when he was an unknown worked with Blue Nile.  Also Electronic and a track called  Getting Away With It works with the format,  In my opinion.

Nock

[Radical348]

Wow someone else who know's Blue Nile.  Played them regularly on my show.  Little known fact, Chris Botti, when he was an unknown worked with Blue Nile.  Also Electronic and a track called  Getting Away With It works with the format,  In my opinion.

Nock

They're great, aren't they!  
Makes sense @ Chris Botti - he covered the Blue Nile's "Easter Parade" on his Night Sessions album.
And on the topic of Blue Nile covers, Annie Lennox also covered "The Downtown Lights."

[producer57]

The Blue Nile has been one of the Hippest groups for over 2 decades. There would be no way anybody programming mainstream SJ radio would have played them

[AC Tones]

Hey gang.  I am very pleased to announce that wavjazz.net is now officially a member of tunegenie.com!  If you are not familiar with the service, tunegenie offers a terrific "Now Playing" feature that not only displays current track data, but you can check out what has been played throughout the day (and go back even further).  Even better, the tunegenie interface is not only attractive, but it is super functional, giving listeners click to buy options, short audio clips of the cuts, videos and song lyrics where available, artist discographies, and Facebook support (enabling you to post comments on/like the cut).  It is social radio at its best, IMO.  Yeah, I know.  It looks eerily like the BA interface, but I promise, that's where the similarities end.    I am going to try very hard this weekend to do a simple/temporary update on the website and the Loudcity listening page to incorporate the tunegenie plugin, and give you all the opportunity to make requests by e-mail.  But in the meantime, feel free to check out the station's playlist page at the tunegenie website at http://wavjazz.tunegenie.com.

[Radical348]

I listened all day and WOW -- was blown away so many times!  Who knew that "A Forest" (one of my favorite Cure tracks) could sound so good on Smooth Jazz?  Also loved the Robert Plant and Real Life tracks.  I'm telling ya, there's an extremely thin line between New Wave/Smooth Jazz!     

Also heard The National's "Sorrow" the other week.

[AC Tones]

I listened all day and WOW -- was blown away so many times!  Who knew that "A Forest" (one of my favorite Cure tracks) could sound so good on Smooth Jazz?  Also loved the Robert Plant and Real Life tracks.  I'm telling ya, there's an extremely thin line between New Wave/Smooth Jazz!     

Also heard The National's "Sorrow" the other week.

Thanks man!  I'm trying hard to inject some new life into this format with vocals it has rarely if ever seen.  Some really like it, others, well...you know...it's a work in progress   I expected that.  But I think some of the New Wave stuff definitely works, particularly deeper cuts.  Thomas Dolby has some terrific stuff that I worked seamlessly into the program, as well as The Pet Shop Boys.  I have been pleasantly surprised with how well the early 80s New Wave stuff has worked.  The AAA stuff is working out nicely as well.  I have been closely monitoring my stats and guys are still listening after these cuts roll out, which is a good sign.  In time, I will be weeding out the laidback 70s cuts, but I am going to try to keep some of the AOR in there.  The next challenge is getting guys to buy into some of the current Pop/Rock vocals.  Tougher sell, for sure.  But if I can go deep and find those cuts with more of that AAA vibe and less Pop-sounding, I think I can pull it off.  Thanks again for the feedback, and thanks for listening!!!  The new website I have been working on looks great and should be up in a week or so.

Peace,

Chris

[Jazz_Kat]

Thanks man!  I'm trying hard to inject some new life into this format with vocals it has rarely if ever seen.  Some really like it, others, well...you know...it's a work in progress   I expected that.  But I think some of the New Wave stuff definitely works, particularly deeper cuts.  Thomas Dolby has some terrific stuff that I worked seamlessly into the program, as well as The Pet Shop Boys.  I have been pleasantly surprised with how well the early 80s New Wave stuff has worked.  The AAA stuff is working out nicely as well.  I have been closely monitoring my stats and guys are still listening after these cuts roll out, which is a good sign.  In time, I will be weeding out the laidback 70s cuts, but I am going to try to keep some of the AOR in there.  The next challenge is getting guys to buy into some of the current Pop/Rock vocals.  Tougher sell, for sure.  But if I can go deep and find those cuts with more of that AAA vibe and less Pop-sounding, I think I can pull it off.  Thanks again for the feedback, and thanks for listening!!!  The new website I have been working on looks great and should be up in a week or so.

Peace,

Chris

I have been listening on my cell phone while I'm out sometimes and the music mix is pretty good Chris. A lot better selection than some of the other stations that are out there. Looking foward to the new site. : )