Is it “smooth jazz”? Is it “yacht rock”? Does it matter?
18 tunes that straddle the fence between the two sub-genres:
Playlist:
Track 1: “I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World)” by Donald Fagen from the album The Nightfly (1982). Written by Donald Fagen, produced by Gary Katz.
| Billboard Single Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Hot 100 | 26 | 14 |
| Adult Contemporary | 8 | 18 |
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Billboard 200 | 11 | 27 |
| R&B | 24 | 17 |
Track 2: “Breezin'” by George Benson from the album Breezin’ (1976). Written by Bobby Womack, produced by Tommy LiPuma.
George Benson: Lead guitar and vocals
Phil Upchurch: Rhythm guitar
Ronnie Foster: Electric piano and Mini-Moog
Jorge Dalto: Clavinet and piano
Phil Upchurch: Bass
Harvey Mason: Drums
Ralph MacDonald: Percussion
| Billboard Single Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Hot 100 | 63 | 6 |
| Adult Contemporary | 13 | 13 |
| R&B | 54 | 9 |
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Billboard 200 | 1 | 78 |
| Jazz | 1 | 74 |
| R&B | 1 | 46 |
Track 3: “Come Back to Me” by Tom Scott from the album Target (1983). Written by Tom Scott, Kenny James & Michael Wilk, produced by Tom Scott.
Tom Scott: Saxophone
Kenny James: Lead vocal
Harvey Mason: Drums
Neil Stubenhaus: Bass
Carlos Rios & Paul Jackson: Guitars
Victor Feldman, Ian Underwood, Michael Boddicker: Keyboards
Judi Brown, Clydene Jackson, Jo Ann Harris, Carmen Grillo, Andrea Robinson, Geoffrey Leib, Lynne Scott, Jim Gilstrap, Leza Miller, Rugenia Peoples: Backing vocals
| Billboard Single Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| R&B | 80 | 6 |
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Jazz | 9 | 25 |
Track 4: “Minute by Minute” by Larry Carlton from the album Discovery (1987). Written by Michael McDonald and Lester Abrams, produced by Larry Carlton.
| Billboard Single Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Adult Contemporary | 25 | 7 |
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Jazz | 1 | 34 |
| Billboard 200 | 180 | 6 |
Track 5: “Just the Two of Us” by Grover Washington, Jr. from the album Winelight (1980). Written by Bill Withers, William Salter, and Ralph MacDonald, produced by Grover Washington, Jr. and Ralph MacDonald.
Grover Washington, Jr.: Saxophones
Bill Withers: Vocal
Ralph MacDonald: Percussion
Steve Gadd: Drums
Marcus Miller: Bass
Eric Gale: Guitar
Richard Tee: Fender Rhodes
Bill Eaton: Oberheim synthesizer
Robert Greenide: Steel drums
Hilda Harris, Yvonne Lewis, and Ullanda McCullough: Backing vocals
| Billboard Single Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Hot 100 | 2 | 24 |
| Adult Contemporary | 2 | 21 |
| R&B | 3 | 21 |
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Billboard 200 | 5 | 52 |
| Jazz | 1 | 183 |
| R&B | 2 | 49 |
Track 6: “Morning Dance” by Spyro Gyra from the album Morning Dance (1979). Written by Jay Beckenstein, produced by Jay Beckenstein and Richard Calandra.
Jay Beckenstein: Alto saxophone
Jeremy Wall: Electric Piano
John Tropea: Guitars
Jim Kurzdorfer: Bass
Ted Reinhardt: Drums
Rubens Bassini: Congas & percussion
David Samuels: Marimba & Steel Drums
| Billboard Single Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Hot 100 | 24 | 15 |
| Adult Contemporary | 1 | 27 |
| R&B | 60 | 8 |
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Billboard 200 | 27 | 41 |
| Jazz | 2 | 81 |
| R&B | 33 | 33 |
Track 7: “We’re in This Love Together” by Al Jarreau from the album Breakin’ Away (1981). Written by Roger Murrah and Keith Stegall, produced by Jay Graydon.
| Billboard Single Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Hot 100 | 15 | 24 |
| Adult Contemporary | 6 | 23 |
| R&B | 6 | 14 |
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Billboard 200 | 9 | 103 |
| Jazz | 1 | 143 |
| R&B | 1 | 77 |
Track 8: “Back Again” by David Sanborn from the album As We Speak (1981). Written by Don Freeman and Dennis Belfield, produced by Robert Margouleff.
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Jazz | 1 | 96 |
| Billboard 200 | 70 | 23 |
| R&B | 32 | 22 |
Track 9: “Is It You?” by Lee Ritenour from the album Rit (1981). Written by Lee Ritenour, Eric Tagg, and Bill Champlin, produced by Lee Ritenour and Harvey Mason.
Lee Ritenour: Guitars
Eric Tagg: Lead vocal
Bill Champlin: Backing vocals
David Foster: Keyboards
Richard Tee: Keyboards
Abraham Laboriel: Bass
Alex Acuna: Drums
Harvey Mason: Percussion
Jerry Hey: Flugelhorn
| Billboard Single Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Hot 100 | 15 | 16 |
| Adult Contemporary | 15 | 13 |
| R&B | 27 | 16 |
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Billboard 200 | 26 | 23 |
| Jazz | 4 | 40 |
| R&B | 20 | 20 |
Track 10: “Silk” by Fuse One from the album Silk (1981). Written by Ndugu, produced by Creed Taylor.
Stanley Turrentine: Tenor Saxophone
Tom Browne: Trumpet
Eric Gale: Guitar
Stanley Clarke: Bass
Ronnie Foster: Keyboards
Todd Cochran: Synthesizer
Ndugu: Drums
Sammy Figueroa: Percussion
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Jazz | 14 | 23 |
| Billboard 200 | 139 | 8 |
| R&B | 44 | 10 |
Track 11: “On the Boulevard” by The Manhattan Transfer from the album Mecca for Moderns (1981). Written by Jay Graydon, Richard Page, and Marc Jordan, produced by Jay Graydon.
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Jazz | 6 | 27 |
| Billboard 200 | 22 | 27 |
Track 12: “Route 101” by Herb Alpert from the album Fandango (1982). Written by Juan Carlos Calderon, produced by Herb Alpert and Jose Quintana.
Herb Alpert: Trumpet
Marie Cain, Darlene Holden-Hoven, Mary Hylan: Backing vocals
Freddie Washington: Bass
Carlos Vega: Drums
Abraham Laboriel, Tim May, Carlos Rios: Guitars
Michel Colombier and Greg Mathieson: Keyboards, Paulinho DaCosta: Percussion
| Billboard Single Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Hot 100 | 37 | 10 |
| Adult Contemporary | 4 | 18 |
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Billboard 200 | 100 | 26 |
| Jazz | 20 | 34 |
| R&B | 52 | 6 |
Track 13: “Sweet Baby” by Stanley Clarke & George Duke from the album The Clarke/Duke Project (1981). Written by George Duke, produced by Stanley Clarke and George Duke.
| Billboard Single Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Hot 100 | 19 | 20 |
| Adult Contemporary | 16 | 15 |
| R&B | 6 | 15 |
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Billboard 200 | 33 | 23 |
| Jazz | 1 | 38 |
| R&B | 7 | 27 |
Track 14: “Dream Hunter” by Sergio Mendes from the album Sergio Mendes (1983). Written by Michael Sembello and Dan Sembello, produced by Sergio Mendes.
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Billboard 200 | 27 | 27 |
| R&B | 22 | 23 |
Track 15: “What You Won’t Do for Love” by Bobby Caldwell from the album Bobby Caldwell (1978). Written by Alfons Kettner and Bobby Caldwell, produced by Ann Holloway.
Bobby Caldwell: Keyboards, synthesizer, vocals
Richie Valesquez: Bass
Harold Seay: Drums
Steve Mealy: Guitar
Benny Latimore: Keyboards
| Billboard Single Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Hot 100 | 9 | 20 |
| Adult Contemporary | 10 | 16 |
| R&B | 6 | 23 |
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Billboard 200 | 21 | 31 |
| R&B | 7 | 28 |
Track 16: “The Cricket Ballet” by Chet Atkins from the album Stay Tuned (1985). Written by Darryl Dybka, produced by David Hungate.
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Jazz | 12 | 14 |
| Billboard 200 | 145 | 13 |
Track 17: “Human Nature” by Miles Davis from the album You’re Under Arrest (1985). Written by John Bettis and Steve Porcaro, produced by Miles Davis and Robert Irving III.
Miles Davis: Trumpet
John Scofield: Guitar
Vince Wilburn, Jr.: Drums
Robert Irving III: Keyboards
Darryl Jones: Bass
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Jazz | 3 | 44 |
| Billboard 200 | 111 | 12 |
| R&B | 63 | 5 |
Track 18: “One Hundred Ways” by Quincy Jones from the album The Dude (1981). Written by Kathy Wakefield, Ben Wright, and Tony Coleman, produced by Quincy Jones.
| Billboard Single Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Hot 100 | 14 | 21 |
| Adult Contemporary | 5 | 21 |
| R&B | 10 | 23 |
| Billboard Album Charts: | Peak | Weeks |
| Billboard 200 | 10 | 80 |
| Jazz | 3 | 89 |
| R&B | 3 | 81 |