best smooth jazz/fusion albums

Fourplay - Elixir.  A great late night listening album, which features a guest vocal performance by non other than Phil Collins!!

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I like Gaucho by Steely Dan. A study in smoothness and a treat from start to finish. Third World Man brings me to tears. The only down side is Hey Nineteen because I heard it overplayed on the radio growing up. It's still pretty smooth though. One of Wetton's favorite albums also.

Edited by hobocamp - September 05 2011 at 15:19

I have a playlist with some songs that should fit this topic .... I have a special relation to slick , smooth jazz. It can be awful (mostly) but it can also be appealing in some way, there is often some entertainment factor. But when it becomes too mechanic, like muzak, it has gone too far. I often have a problem with saxofone, and I can't stand David Sanborn (judging from what I've heard). But there are exceptions, I like Klaus Doldinger and some other stuff. "Smooth" is ultimately a deragotary term for me, but some level of smoothness can have it's charm.

Edited by wilmon91 - September 05 2011 at 19:18

Yeah, since -92 or so   But isn't Toto is disbanded (?) although they had a tour this year with Joseph Williams on vocals. He's has a band now, PSP (Phillips Saisse Palladino) in a smooth fusion style who does a lot of live shows.

Matthew T wrote: darkshade wrote: js (Easy Money) wrote: Try the Pop Jazz/Crossover genre at this website: www.jazzmusicarchives.com me too.............but is there such a thing as good smooth Jazz album

yes, some Spyro Gyra albums (especially the ones with Manolo Badrena and Steve Gadd), Marc Berthoumieux's stuff (french accordionist, inspired by Pat Metheny), a lot of Pat Metheny stuff, late eighties and nineties Jan Garbarek's stuff (the albums with Manu Katché on drums), Sixun's album 'Explore' (fantastic french jazz-rock band, at least at their debuts), members of Sixun's various projects : Louis Winsberg's 'camino', Eric Le Lann's 'New York' with Sixun's drummer Paco Séry...Richard Bona's solo stuff, mid-eighties Mike Stern stuff...Rippington's 'tourist in paradise', Junior Mance's 'the Junior Mance touch' and Joe Sample's 'rainow seeker' (although I am not sure the "smooth jazz" label can be used for seventies stuff).