The Jazz Groove - Outstanding Jazz Radio On The Internet

One of the truly outstanding Internet radio stations is The Jazz Groove, a streaming service that specializes in music that is mellow, or to use the station's own descriptive words, "cool and elegant."

The station plays melodic fare that still manages to possess an eclectic edge. It's not elevator music. It's the stuff you'll hear in smokey bars late at night that's also suitable for romantic, candlelight dinners.

At any given moment, you may hear Al Di Meola, Vince Guaraldi, Oscar Peterson, Diana Krall, Billie Holiday, Quincy Jones, Nat King Cole, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Chris Botti, Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Herbie Hancock, George Benson, Coleman Hawkins, Dave Brubeck, Frank Sinatra, Jon Batiste and many more.

There are other online radio stations that play mellow jazz and many of them do a nice job, but The Jazz Groove has one big advantage over the others. The station is completely non-commercial without having to sign up for an account or requiring you to pay a monthly fee to rid yourself of the ads because the station is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that depends on tax deductible donations from listeners like us. The station is hosted by the Foundation to Advance Jazz out of San Francisco, CA.

Currently, the foundation serves up five stations. Mix #1 is Jazz Groove's original station. Mix #2 is simply a three hour delay of #1 and is intended for East coast listeners, but you can choose either one. A third station, Dreams, offers "the softest laid-back jazz for sleep." Smooth Jazz plays exactly what its name implies. Finally, you can listen to Gems, a station that specializes in jazz vocalists.

To quote the foundation directly, "Our mission is to dramatically expand the jazz audience. According to Nielsen, 99% of music consumption does not include jazz. That's unacceptable for America's most important contribution to the arts. We believe jazz has great potential to reach millions of new fans; our mission is to unlock and activate that audience."

There are multiple ways to listen. You can stream The Jazz Groove directly through their website or through an Amazon Echo, Alexa, Chromebook, Roku, Sonos, iTunes, Tune In, iPhone and iPad, and many more devices and apps. Check their website for more information.

Please note that your listening options are limited unless you become a donor. After listening for about 60 minutes - if traffic on the site becomes too busy - non-subscribers may have their stream turned off for the remainder of the day. Premium subscriptions will allow you unlimited access to music, use of a skip button and the ability to silence fund drives. Subscribers can also choose from three fidelity options. You can select 128k AAC, 256k AAC or FLAC for superior sound.

I play the station in two different ways. I'll log into the website, plug my Amazon Fire directly into my home theater stereo system and listen through my Klipsch speakers. The website tells me the track title and artist. I also use my Amazon Echo. If I use the Echo and I want to know the artist and song I just say, "Alexa, ask the Jazz Groove what's playing" and she'll quickly tell me.

Sadly, I've been freeloading The Jazz Groove for several years without becoming a paying member, but I finally succumbed to the station's charms and subscribed last week. It's about time. You can join for as little as $10 per month or $100 annually.

If you're a jazz fan and want a place to listen to music that is artistic and never, ever dull - but not at all intrusive - you've finally found a home.

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