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Local Guitarist Vincent Sims asks the question "Is That Jazz?"

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The emergence of the "smooth jazz" radio format has generated much controversy among those in the jazz community. "Smooth jazz," due to the popularity and commercial viability of the format, has also come to be recognized as a style of music. The sound, sometimes called contemporary jazz, is now widely regarded as a sub-genre of jazz.

Just 10 years ago you might have been hard pressed to find listeners who declared themselves jazz fans. Now, all of a sudden, they're coming out of the woodwork. What do these newfound fans mean when they pronounce themselves as jazz fans? For the most part, what they call jazz is not jazz at all but, as David Sanborn himself put it, "instrumental pop".

To become an accomplished artist in any style of music requires that one study the literature of the music and the recognized masters of that style of music. For jazz, those masters include people like Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane.

After one has mastered that literature, the next step is to put one's own stamp onto all the knowledge that you have acquired so far. This stamp is what you refer to as an artist's style. In rural Southern communities, it was common for aspiring musicians to practice their instruments in the woodshed behind the house. This terminology has survived to this day. Jazz musicians still refer to the time spent developing their craft as "being in the woodshed."

My personal definition of jazz requires that the music be linked in some way to the long lineage of jazz history; spiritually connected to Armstrong, Gillespie, John Coltrane and the other masters. The music doesn't have to sound like any of those artists by any means, but it must reflect the same spirit that has been passed on through time via these masters. This spirit may also be found in the work of many artists not ordinarily associated with jazz , like Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, and the Fugees. Remember, this is my definition.

That is why I have a problem with identifying "smooth jazz" as a sub-genre of jazz. "Smooth jazz" lacks the spirit of the jazz masters. In fact the spirit of "smooth jazz" is derived more from Lawrence Welk than Charlie Parker. "Smooth jazz," as its name implies, has much more to do with the sound and texture of the music than the actual notes or spirit of the music. It's instrumental pop.

I often hear a common complaint from some of the more traditional-minded jazz musicians in the Tampa Bay area. They gripe about the many so-called "jazz" venues throughout the area, where very little jazz is actually performed.

I can understand their indignation, but they fail to see the problem in its proper context. The venues are not the problem; the problem is the audience. Smooth jazz is just capitalism at work, supplying a demand. The fact is that no matter what you call it, "smooth jazz" is what the majority of the people who frequent jazz venues in Tampa Bay usually want to hear.

We true jazz fans will just have to grin and bear it. Most importantly, we need to share it - share the artistry, history, excitement, and pure joy of jazz, just like jazz musicians do every time they play!