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VOCALS

A

ASchuelke

How do people feel about vocals on Smooth Jazz radio?

At my new "SmoothJazz99.com" I take a "less is more" approach to a lot of the programming, especially the vocals. You'll catch about two vocals per hour, and they'd be by Sade, Steely Dan, & Basia, among others. But they WON'T be by Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, etc.

Is there such a thing as too MANY instrumentals? Am I missing out on some things? Do the Michael Buble's and Diana Kralls of the world belong in the mix?

The vocal end of the format (beyond the no-brainers) is definitely not my strong suit. I love instrumentals. But I also think that one vocal per quarter-hour (which would be more than I'm currently scheduling) may be more suitable.

Your thoughts?

Aaron
http://www.smoothjazz99.com
 
You're doing a good job. Don't do more than 4 per hour.

You might want to consider these:
Everything But The Girl (Troubled Mind, Missing, The Road, Driving, before Today, etc)
Dido (Here With Me, Stoned)
The Sundays (Wild Horses, Summertime, Here's Where The Story Ends)
Beck (Tropicalia)
Lana Del Rey (Video Games)
Robbie Robertson (Showdown at Big Sky)
Samantha James (Amber Sky, Angel Love)
Enigma (Principles of Lust)
Restless Heart w/ Warren Hill (Tell Me What You Dream)
Adele (Make You Feel My Love)
Norah Jones w/ Peter Malick Group (Remix of Strange Transmissions)
 
I enjoy some vocals on SJ radio, but usually by Sade/Anita Baker or other SJ artists. Forget Fergie, Coldplay and others...

-crainbebo
 
crainbebo said:
I enjoy some vocals on SJ radio, but usually by Sade/Anita Baker or other SJ artists. Forget Fergie, Coldplay and others...

-crainbebo
Click to expand...
The key is to focus on the sound/texture and less on the actual artist. Anita Baker has some stuff that sounds way too R&B. Coldplay actually has some vocals and instrumentals that would be a better fit compared to Anita Baker or Sade.
 
I heard Rilo Kiley's Dreamworld on the Harmonic Lounge this morning! Reminded me of a vocal I would have heard in the early days of NAC.
 
star100 said:
I heard Rilo Kiley's Dreamworld on the Harmonic Lounge this morning! Reminded me of a vocal I would have heard in the early days of NAC.
Click to expand...

Bill has a good ear for this stuff. Reminds me a little of a tune I play from the Dream Academy from the 80s called "Love Parade." It's not easy melding these kind of cuts into this format, and Bill can certainly attest to this. I have gotten scorched more than a few times incorporating vocals you would not typically hear in an instrumental-heavy presentation. Frankly, some of my listeners would probably prefer if I went 100% instrumental. However, pardon the oxymoronic pun, but I think mixing in well chosen vocals of the NAC variety is instrumental ;D to the long term viability and growth of this format.
 
I scoured the house looking for old Jones hourly playlists from the mid 90's that I know I have SOMEWHERE but to no avail.


I was hoping to glance at those for ways to jog my memory for the vocals they played at the time.

I did manage, however, to come up with a couple on my own: "Faith In Us" by Slim Man, and "All In My Mind" by Pete Belasco. "Two To Tango" by Vanessa Daou came to mind too.

Also remembered several Michael Tomlinson tracks.

That may very well be all the tunes I'm looking to remember. Unless you fine folks can think of any.
 
Here are a few Jones vocals I remember well:
EBTG - Troubled Mind/Driving/Missing/Understanding/One Place
Celine Dion/Kenny G - Halfway to Heaven
Diana Krall - The Look Of Love/Swonderful/Popsicle Toes
Dionne Warwick - Friends Can Be Lovers (I think Love Power with Kenny G would also be a good fit).
Chicago - Happy Man
Steely Dan - Aja
Doobie Brothers - For Someone Special
Kenny Loggins - What A Fool Believes (Live)/Conviction of the Heart
Tracy Chapman - Fast Car

That Vanessa Daou track is great. I'm guessing if Jones was still around today they would play Tracy Thorn's solo stuff. Much of it sounds like her early EBTG stuff. I think we'd also hear Madeleine Peyroux, Gretchen Parlato, and Corinne Bailey Rae.

I still think some select tracks from Dido would be good. I'd avoid Thank You because it is overplayed. I am hearing Adele, Samantha James, and Fitz and The Tantrums on Harmonic Lounge. All the tracks seem to fit well in moderation. What do you think about John Mayer's Gravity? I think that would fit well.
 
Some vocals I like,

In and Out of Love - Patti Austin
This Could Be Real - Richard Eillot
Smooth Jazz Is Bumpin' - Paul Hardcastle
La Luna and Golden Days- Matt Bianco
Breeze On By - Donny Osmond
Anything from Steely Dan

That's all I can think of off hand right now. 8)
 
ASchuelke said:
I scoured the house looking for old Jones hourly playlists from the mid 90's that I know I have SOMEWHERE but to no avail.


I was hoping to glance at those for ways to jog my memory for the vocals they played at the time.

I did manage, however, to come up with a couple on my own: "Faith In Us" by Slim Man, and "All In My Mind" by Pete Belasco. "Two To Tango" by Vanessa Daou came to mind too.

Also remembered several Michael Tomlinson tracks.

That may very well be all the tunes I'm looking to remember. Unless you fine folks can think of any.
Click to expand...

These are in my playlist, and have been for years. Also don't forget Belasco's "Love Train." Vanessa Daou also does a couple lesser know cuts that are terrific. Michael Tomlinson's "Sunlight" and "Live Again" are also classics Jones played with regularity as well.
 
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