Welcome again to the Secret Garden, the page which offers a British perspective on all that’s good, and not so good, in the world of smooth jazz. Later we will take a look at another Smooth Soul Survivor and some interesting new music.

Smooth jazz radio in the UK

First up on this months Secret Garden agenda is item one of what is expected to be a regular feature on smooth jazz radio in the UK and it must be said from the outset that, leaving aside net radio options, there is not all that much of it. In order to understand the reasons for this it is first necessary to appreciate something of the history and structure of radio in the UK. Its airwaves have, historically, been regulated to a much greater extent than those of the USA. As a consequence pirate radio stations, which set out to appeal to a younger audience, were driven from the airwaves in the late sixties. National and much of local radio remained in the hands of The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Even today the BBC provides the bulk of national radio output. It offers five listening options covering chart top forty, middle of the road, classical, current affairs and talk / sports. It is only in recent years that some relaxation of the radio licensing laws has seen the introduction of three additional national commercial stations which offer classical, pop and talk / sports radio respectively. Commercial local and regional radio has developed steadily but has almost exclusively been confined to FM pop and AM ‘golden oldie’ formats. Local talk requirements have remained mainly the province of local BBC stations. Until the nineties radio stations tended to take the easy option with regard to music policy. They chased the top forty audience. Stations that concentrated on specific music formats were rare. The only exception to this being one national classical music station and a limited number of local stations within the London area. Enthusiasts of soul, blues, dance or jazz were typically compelled to content themselves with non prime time slots on established BBC stations. These programmes continue today and it remains uncommon for them to exceed two hours in duration. Little obvious demand, and reluctance on the part of radio stations to innovate, meant that fusion and smooth jazz music suffered from a total lack of radio exposure. Consequently the genre, until very recently, remained almost unheard of by a large proportion of the listening public. Now, certain regional commercial stations, with coverage of typically fifty to one hundred miles radius, are beginning to specialise in niche music formats or to target particular demographic groups. With more licences up for grabs, and the advent of digital radio, this trend is certain to continue To date it is probably the format covered by the generic umbrella ‘dance’ that has picked up most of the new licensing opportunities for this niche market. However, at long last, for lovers of smooth jazz, things are beginning to change. This development has come courtesy of the radio station Jazz FM which broadcasts on 102.2 FM in London and 100.4 FM in the North West of England. Although Jazz FM has been on the air for only ten years it has not always been a ‘smooth jazz station’. Over that time it has seen several changes of direction in music policy. Its transition to the smooth jazz format has been an interesting one. Jazz FM started transmitting to the London area and the South East in 1990. It was a commercial station for jazz enthusiasts. The costs of running the operation were huge and the audience was relatively small. Consequently the advertising revenue was insufficient to make the station viable. In 1994, in an attempt to rejuvenate the radio station, and to make it more popular with more listeners, the word ‘Jazz’ was dropped from the stations name. It became ‘JFM’. It was thought by the station management of the time that the name ‘JFM’ would encourage more listeners to try the station. The concern was that too many potential listeners heard the name ‘Jazz FM’ and thought "I don’t like jazz and I won’t be listening to that". The change of name coincided with a change to a more mainstream populist music policy, which offered a blend of soul, fusion jazz and blues. It was intended to give a broader listening appeal. This was a good time for fusion fans in London. It was a great feeling to switch on the radio early in the morning and hear tracks such as ‘Don’t Get Any Better’ by Tom Scott or ‘Spellbound’ by Joe Sample. Such exposure encouraged listeners to seek out the music in record stores. Although available choice remained small it become possible to shop around the specialist stores in the major UK cities where a limited selection of the music could be found. This in turn reduced dependency on ‘imports’. Record companies, sensing an emerging market, released more material in the UK. Specialist compilations began to appear. The revolution was beginning to roll. Meanwhile, also in 1994, the station expanded to North West England, broadcasting on 100.4 FM, from a studio in Manchester. This northern arm of JFM operated an identical music policy to that of its London big brother. Some broadcasts were shared with the London station while others utilised local DJ’s, identified by their distinctive North West English accents and drawn, in some part, from the soul music scene active in that part of the country. JFM seemed destined to trail blaze a music format new to a growing band of British listeners yet, after only fifteen months of JFM, the station name reverted to ‘Jazz FM’. With it came another change of music policy. Smooth jazz and fusion was more and more consigned to the margins of the station. In England the march of the smooth jazz army was put on hold. Secret Garden is indebted to John Baish of Jazz FM for his assistance in compiling this article. Next month we will pick up the story of Jazz FM in early 1998 with yet another change in music policy.

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Now for a look at something recent and interesting. This month Secret Garden has had the chance to listen to Daylight Again, a 1997 release by Walter Duda on World Alert records. Despite the all star aggregation that has joined Duda on this recording the project is very much the work of the man himself. As keyboard player, composer, arranger and vocalist he is very much the guy that make things happen. The album is a cool mix of funk, jazz, smooth jazz and soul, which trades on several complementary influences. On ten tight tracks Duda guides the listener through a range of styles with several stand out landmarks along the way. The opener, ‘No Matter What’, delivers touches of 70’s fusion and evokes the more mellow moments of the Isaac Hayes 1971 soundtrack album, ‘Shaft’. The instrumental ‘Valerie’ is flecked with shades of Joe McBride and on ‘One Good Reason’ a scent of the Rippingtons may just be evident. The stand out track, ‘Deep Into The Night’ is a six plus minute’s slow burner, which just builds and builds. Many will wish that it had gone for on longer. All tracks considered Daylight Again is a good album and, for those looking for something slightly different from the current glut of background smooth jazz, might be worth a try. World Alert records can be found at PO Box 911, New York, NY 10025. Telephone (212) 663 - 9030.

Smooth Soul Survivors
For a recording to be classed by Secret Garden as a Smooth Soul Survivor it must be a much loved smooth jazz track which has its origins deep in the soul music of the 60’s and 70’s. The intention is to encourage you, the reader, to search the racks of your favourite record store for such items of buried treasure.
	This months excursion into the archives has uncovered the James Mtume and Reggie Lucas composition ‘The Closer I Get To You’. Mtume, percussion, and Lucas, guitar, had played with Miles Davies in the early seventies. They combined to write and produce for such artists as Phyllis Hyman, Eddie Henderson, Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack. Among their credits were the 1980 dance floor fillers ‘You Know How To Love Me’ by Phyllis Hyman and ‘Back Together Again’ by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway. However it was another collaboration with Flack and Hathaway, ‘The Closer I Get To You’ that led to a 1978 hit on both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK it spent four weeks on the charts reaching # 42. The recording appeared on the Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway 1977 album, ‘Blue Lights In The Basement’, on which Mtume and Lucas also performed. Following this, the status of the record as a modern classic was quickly established. It appeared on Mtumes own 1978 release ‘Kiss The World Goodbye’ on which both Mtume and Lucas played as well as produced. It was featured on the 1978 Vanguard recording by the Players Association, ‘Turn The Music Up’ and was covered by Herbie Mann on his 1979 Atlantic release ‘Sunbelt’ which also featured Roy Ayers. It has also proved to be a song that transcends recognised music formats. Although deemed to be closest to soul, it experienced a cross over to pop with Tom Jones and was handled by the reggae artist Dennis Brown in a duet with Janet Kay. This featured on Browns ‘The Prime Of Dennis Brown’ on Trojan as well as the compilation ‘Trojan Jungle 2’ in 1997. In addition, the gospel rooted Anson and Eric Dawkins included it on their 1993 album ‘Dawkins and Dawkins’. Its credentials as a Smooth Soul Survivor have been reinforced by the treatment given to it by Peter White on his 1994, ‘Reflections’, and later on his own compilation, ‘Collections - Limited Edition’ in 1996. This Peter White version also featured on the 1997 compilation ‘Flavours Of Jazz 97’. In terms of smooth jazz, the most enduring and atmospheric memory of ‘The Closer I Get To You’ rests with the 1979 offering by Tom Browne from his GRP issue ‘Browne Sugar’. An essentially minimalist approach by Tom on flugelhorn and production by Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen, which delays the introduction of the haunting vocals by Patti Austin to the point where the first time listener is lulled into believing that the track must be an instrumental, is truly memorable. However, like all the best Smooth Soul Survivor’s that go around, this one comes around. Much of Roberta Flack’s success in the seventies had come through her work with Donny Hathaway who sadly committed suicide in 1979. After a short break Flack formed a new partnership, this time with Peabo Bryson. When Fourplay included the song on their 1995 Warner Brothers recording ‘Elixir’ they paired Peabo Bryson with Pattie Austin on vocals. Another interesting end to yet another great Smooth Soul Survivor.

If you have any comments on what you have found in this months Secret Garden please contact the Smooth Jazz Vibes Guest Book or e mail me on DenisPoole@AOL.com

Added: 2/12/2000