Musician reflects on genre's past

Kim Waters was a staple on R & amp;B stations before rap's ascendancy. Now, he's playing different venues.
By MALCOLM X ABRAM
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Smooth jazz may not get much love from critics (this one included), but its popularity is undeniable.
Generally heavy on hummable melodies and standard grooves and light on changes and complexity, smooth jazz is designed to make you tap your foot and if it's a slow jam, inspire listeners to hold hands or whatever parts are available.
Its nonoffensive and nonattention-demanding sound has helped to make it the music of relaxation and also the music of shopping malls, supermarkets, restaurants, elevators and waiting rooms.
And, for proud and popular smooth performers such as saxophonist/producer Kim Waters, it means that sometimes you hear yourself in unusual places.
"The grocery store is probably the weirdest place I've ever heard my music," Waters said during a recent telephone interview from his home state of Maryland.
"We're walking around and my daughter said, 'Hey daddy that's you,' and suddenly you realize yeah, that is me. It's cool because your music is getting played and that's what's most important," he said.
Waters should be used to hearing his music when he's out and about because he has been making R & amp;B-influenced smooth jazz for 15 years. He first recorded in 1988, back when smooth jazz was contemporary jazz and R & amp;B stations weren't afraid to play music with no words. He was a staple on R & amp;B radio back in the days when they had late evening "Quiet Storm" programs. But rap's ascendance has mostly killed off the late night sounds of love, a phenomena the savvy Waters saw coming.
"Music started changing into the hip-hop and rap. It left off this type of music from being played by the urban stations, and we had to find another avenue to get our music played and along came smooth jazz," he said.
Terminology
Though the term has been tainted for some artists, Waters embraces the smooth jazz label and is just happy to have some place to share his music, though he does recall the contemporary jazz days fondly.
"It was [saxophonists] Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum, myself and Najee, and we were played by urban stations all over the country. We had the ability to go out on tour with big R & amp;B acts like Freddie Jackson. But now, it's kind of a closed scene in smooth jazz because there's not a format where all of us can get together and do the same type of touring like we used to do.
"There was no real boundary to being played back in those days," he recalled.
Those days were the late '80s, when Waters released his debut, "Sweet and Sexy," mixing his own easy-to-digest tunes with popular R & amp;B cuts, including Smokey Robinson's "Cruisin" and Anita Baker's "Giving You the Best That I've Got." That album solidified a successful template for Waters that continues on his 13th and latest release, "In the Name of Love," where he offers up 10 tracks of groovy jazz-flavored smoothness that includes covers of R. Kelly's already smooth "Step in the Name of Love," and a blast from the past, Barry White's "Love Theme."
"I did that for my Dad, actually. He told me you have to do Barry White because Barry White was his favorite and since he [White] passed, I thought it was a nice tribute."
Safe music
One of the most common knocks against smooth jazz is that on record it's extremely safe -- some melody, a few choruses of improvisation over the groove and on to the next tune. It may not make for innovative music, but it is a way of doing business that has proved to be quite successful for Waters, who has sold almost a million records across the span of his career.
"If you do too much, they say it's not radio. Grover Washington said to me, 'Keep it simple, get the [radio] airplay and make money.' It's a business. You go live and you can play whatever you want to play," he said.
Live performances are where even the most conservative smooth jazz artist gladly cuts loose and struts his stuff. "Live is off the chain. You open up and play and they say, 'Wow this guy can actually play.'
"Performing is the best thing. You can really truly express all your feelings. People can really see what you're doing."
Waters' tour itinerary takes him to festivals, hotels, casinos, theaters and every other kind of venue that will have him and his band, which is his brother James on bass, keyboardist Al Smith and drummer Gregory Granger.