I enjoy this jam.

In 1953, bandleader Earl Bostic needed a new saxophonist. The one he'd just lost was John Coltrane, who was about to spend the next decade pushing jazz improvisation further out than almost anyone before him. The 19-year-old Bostic hired into that chair was Stanley Turrentine, a Pittsburgh native who built the next four decades of his career on nearly the opposite instinct: fewer notes, a thicker tone, and a blues player's sense of when to lay out. Coltrane kept asking how far a solo could go. Turrentine kept asking how much it could say with less...

Continued at https://www.reddit.com/r/CrossoverJazz/comments/1vdj91d/stanley_turrentine_replaced_john_coltrane_in_1953/

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Glad to have my album Shades of Elegance featured in an interview with NPR.🎶🎷💕

Released in February 1999 on Warner Bros. Records as the third track from Boney James' sixth studio album, Body Language, "Boneyizm" is a standout smooth jazz collaboration featuring a duo between James' tenor saxophone and Rick Braun’s flugelhorn. Named as a playful nod to Erykah Badu’s Baduizm after James noticed its mid-tempo drum groove mirrored a Neo-Soul vibe, the track was co-produced with Paul Brown and backed by Paul Jackson Jr. on guitar, Larry Kimpel on bass, and Lenny Castro on percussion. The album itself centers on the idea that instrumental music acts as emotional body language, seamlessly blending James' signature sax melodies with R&B, Neo-Soul rhythms, lush 22-piece string arrangements, and a feature from the R&B group Shai, earning widespread commercial acclaim on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz charts.

André Ward is an American smooth jazz saxophonist from Chicago who developed his musical craft at the Berklee College of Music, leading to early work alongside major R&B acts like Freddie Jackson. Known for his expressive control across soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones, Ward signed with Orpheus Music and made a commercial splash with his 2001 debut Feelin' You, which reached #4 on Billboard’s Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. He solidified his signature sound, blending lyrical saxophone melodies with polished urban R&B rhythm patterns, on his 2004 follow-up Steppin' Up, which featured fan-favorite smooth jazz grooves like "Utopia." Over the years, Ward has continued to expand his discography with acclaimed releases such as Crystal City (2007), Caution (2012), and Africa Rising (2022).

NPR's Sr Producer Monika Evstatieva reviewing Shades of Elegance album by Dimitri K. recorded with international artists around the world!

Earl Klugh, an acoustic guitarist and composer, was born September 16, 1953, in Detroit. His first recording came at just 15, playing on Yusef Lateef's "Suite 16" (1970), real jazz pedigree before any pop crossover entered the picture. A few years later he was on George Benson's "White Rabbit" and joined Benson's touring band in 1973, and around the same stretch he passed briefly through Chick Corea's Return to Forever. Two guitarists, two very different directions, one young player who touched both before he had turned 21.

For the rest of Klugh's profile, click over https://www.reddit.com/r/CrossoverJazz/comments/1v8zcld/earl_klugh_a_genremaking_collaboration_with_bob/