Crossover jazz

In the wake of fusion's decline in the mid-1970s, jazz artists who continued to seek wider audiences began incorporating a variety of popular sounds into their music, forming a group of accessible styles that became known as crossover jazz. Influential saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr. incorporated elements of Funk and R&B into a sound based in Hard Bop, while singer Al Jarreau blurred the lines between jazz, pop, and soul. Other artists, such as The Rippingtons and Spyro Gyra, injected their pop-flavored instrumentals with Latin rhythms and electronic keyboards. Unlike the related genre smooth jazz, crossover jazz retains an emphasis on improvisation but attempts to make that improvisation commercially successful by couching it in a variety of marketable formats.

Crossover jazz artists

• David Benoit
• George Benson
• Kenny G
• Robert Glasper
• Boney James
• Al Jarreau
• Earl Klugh^[1]
• Dave Koz
• Chuck Loeb
• Pat Metheny
• The Rippingtons
• David Sanborn
• Spyro Gyra
• Grover Washington, Jr.
• Kirk Whalum
• Eric Lewis (pianist)
• The Yellowjackets
• Jamie Cullum
• Claude Bolling

See also

• Jazz fusion
• Smooth jazz

References

1. ^ Bogdanov, Vladimir; Chris Woodstra, Stephen Thomas Erlewine (2001). All music guide: the definitive guide to popular music. Hal Leonard. pp. 1275. ISBN 9780879306274. http://books.google.com/books?id=Z6TpuVW6QA4C&pg=PT1275. Retrieved 16 September 2010. 

External links

• allmusic.com : Crossover Jazz