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.

Comments

Post a Comment

WHAT'S HOT TODAY!

Slower Than Slow: 16 RPM Records

Image
Have you ever heard of a long forgotten vinyl format, the 16 2/3 RPM record? They were half the speed of the 33 1/3 RPM albums that were the traditional standard for recorded music. Most record players in the 1950s and 1960s came with a speed setting to play these long forgotten discs that were considered novelties even during the years they were available. Because most, but not all, 16s had big holes and were 7" in diameter many of them were mistaken for 45 RPMs and at that size the speed allowed for up to 20 minutes of playing time per side. However, there was no true standard size and they were also manufactured to be 9, 10, or 12 inches in diameter, and these larger records played even longer. Just like the other speeds and formats 16s could be played one record at a time or stacked on a changer for continuous play. Radio stations often used the discs for pre-recorded radio shows containing interviews, dramas, and documentaries. More frequen
Read more

Chicago: An Album By Album Analysis Of The Terry Kath Era (1969 - 1977)

Image
The original lineup of Chicago has always been one of my all time favorite bands. My affection for this great horn band is such that I want to discuss all of the albums they recorded before Terry Kath's unfortunate and accidental passing. Their debut album is now forty years old, and it's followup is not far behind, yet their music endures to this day. * * * * * Everyone Must Own * * * * Excellent * * * Good * * Fair * Poor * * * * * Chicago Transit Authority (1969) - Whether they were playing screaming psychedelic hard rock, jazz, blues, or love songs, everyone in the band proved they were worthy of the huge mass success that followed CTA 's release. The band's ability to play anything and play it well is the hallmark of their debut album. The stars are Robert Lamm, Terry Kath, and the horns, and even Peter Cetera demonstrates he can be a rock and roll animal when he wants to be. The standout tracks are Lamm's "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It
Read more

Laurie London - He's Got The Whole World (In His Hands) (1958)

Image
Today we're going to discuss an almost totally forgotten hit record along with a little bit of related Billboard chart history. The inspiration for this post came about while sorting through some extremely old 45s that I didn't remember I owned. I've had "He's Got The Whole World (In His Hands)" by Laurie London - a rare, popular, gospel hit - in my record collection since my childhood, even though it wasn't really mine. The single belonged to either my mother or my grandmother who lived with us. I played it once in awhile because I was always allowed free access to their records, and it was eventually absorbed into my collection. Despite the name, teenager Laurie London (born January 19, 1944) was a boy singer who - at age thirteen - became a one-hit wonder in his native UK and in America the following year. Information about London is sparse. Details vary depending on the particular website you're reading, but according to Wik
Read more

Why Do 45 RPM Records Have Big Holes?

Image
Today we're going to find out why 45 RPM records have much larger holes than 78s and 33s. Believe it or not I often wondered about this burning question when I was collecting hundreds of these little seven inch gems back the 1960s. According to several websites, including Answerbag , the reason for the large hole used by 45s was simple. It was difficult for the old 78s, with their smaller holes, to find their way onto jukebox spindles. The large hole effectively eliminated that problem. Strangely, seven inch 45s were often pressed with the smaller holes used for LPs in many countries outside the United States, especially in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Overseas the inserts (commonly know as spiders) were manufactured into the large holes at the factories but they could be punched out if desired. The Beatles' British single of "Love Me Do," pictured here, is a typical example. Why were the spiders built into English 45s? I was unable to fi
Read more

Louis Armstrong - Louis In London (2024)

Image
Louis In London is a live album of a concert Louis Armstrong and his All-Stars recorded for the BBC on July 2, 1968. It was first aired by the network on September 22, 1968. Armstrong died in 1971 and his health was already taking a a sad turn when this concert took place. It's often been called his last great performance because his health deteriorated significantly shortly thereafter, and his ability to tour was severely limited. When the great tumpeter and singer received a tape recording of his London show he marked it "for the fans" because he was so proud of it. He also made copies on his recently installed high-end Tandberg tape system for each member of the All-Stars. In 1970, nine of the thirteen tracks from this new CD were released on LP as  Louis Armstrong's Greatest Hits Recorded Live  on Brunswick Records in both America and in the UK. The CD was digitally transfered form the original BBC telecast recording and no
Read more