Smooth Jazz · Genres
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What is smooth jazz?

Smooth Jazz is a genre mix that is heavily influenced by R&B, Rock, and Pop. It features heavy use of electric instruments a smooth R&B inspired beat and melodies.

Artists to start with

  1. Grover Washington, Jr.
  2. Bobby Caldwell
  3. George Benson
  4. Camiel
  5. Michael Franks
  6. Paul Hardcastle
  7. Kenny G
  8. Boney James
  9. Fourplay
  10. Shakatak

Albums to hear first

  • Give Me the Night by George BensonGive Me the NightGeorge Benson
  • Breathless by Kenny GBreathlessKenny G
  • After The Storm by Norman BrownAfter The StormNorman Brown
  • CARAVAN OF DREAMS by Peter WhiteCARAVAN OF DREAMSPeter White
  • Glow by Peter WhiteGlowPeter White
  • Duotones by Kenny GDuotonesKenny G
  • The Best of George Benson by George BensonThe Best of George BensonGeorge Benson
  • Shine by Boney JamesShineBoney James

Smooth Jazz songs

  1. Just The Two Of Us by Grover Washington, Jr.
  2. What You Won't Do for Love by Bobby Caldwell
  3. Just the Two of Us (feat. Bill Withers) by Grover Washington, Jr.
  4. Breezin' by George Benson
  5. Frankie's First Affair by Sade
  6. I Never Thought I'd See The Day by Sade
  7. Turn Your Love Around by George Benson
  8. Keep Looking by Sade
  9. When Am I Going to Make a Living by Sade
  10. War of the Hearts by Sade

Smooth Jazz on Risocast

  • Diamond Life by SadeDiamond LifeSade
  • Masterpiece by Special EFXMasterpieceSpecial EFX · 1999
  • Party by Special EFXPartySpecial EFX · 2003
  • Love And Happiness by Al JarreauLove And HappinessAl Jarreau · 2008
  • Speak Low by Boz ScaggsSpeak LowBoz Scaggs · 2008
  • Play by Special EFXPlaySpecial EFX · 2006
  • Special EFX Collection by Special EFXSpecial EFX CollectionSpecial EFX · 1993
  • Order of Distinction by Ernest RanglinOrder of DistinctionErnest Ranglin
  • On My Own by Debra LawsOn My OwnDebra Laws · 1981
  • Meant for You by Debra LawsMeant for YouDebra Laws · 1981
  • Goodbye Anne-Marie - Instrumental Score by Ralph BurnsGoodbye Anne-Marie - Instrumental ScoreRalph Burns · 1989
  • Hell Hound - Instrumental Score by Ralph BurnsHell Hound - Instrumental ScoreRalph Burns · 1989

Neighbouring genres

In the jazz & blues family. All genres

bluescool jazzbossa novaacid jazzblues rockbebopavant-garde jazzdelta blueschicago bluesdark jazzcountry bluesdesert blues

Questions

What is smooth jazz?
Smooth Jazz is a genre mix that is heavily influenced by R&B, Rock, and Pop. It features heavy use of electric instruments a smooth R&B inspired beat and melodies.
Who are the best-known smooth jazz artists?
By Last.fm listening: Grover Washington, Jr., Bobby Caldwell, George Benson, Camiel, Michael Franks and Paul Hardcastle.
What genres are similar to smooth jazz?
On Risocast it sits with blues, cool jazz, bossa nova, acid jazz, blues rock and bebop.

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Updated 6 October 2026

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A music log that fills itself in. It records the songs you play on your computer and your phone, turns them into your top songs, stats and a public profile, and finds people whose taste overlaps with yours.

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A song counts once half of it has played, or four minutes — whichever comes first. Songs of 30 seconds or less, and videos or podcasts over 20 minutes, never count.

On Windows, anything that shows up in Windows' media controls: Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Deezer, browsers, foobar2000, Windows Media Player and more (VLC, iTunes and MusicBee through their free media-controls plugin). On Android, any music app — it reads the same now-playing info your lock screen shows. You can also connect Spotify or import from Last.fm.

Yes. Plays are counted on your device and sent when you're back online, and the phone app opens without a connection.

It does the same core job — scrobbling, automatically — without plugins per player, and adds taste matching: see who listens like you and how much your taste overlaps.

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When a song countsAfter half its length, or four minutes, whichever comes first.Tracks under 30 seconds are ignored.Offline plays are counted on the device and sent later.

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