Jimi King's Smooth Jazz Mutterings

We Have a New Mailing List

2012-02-03T16:19:00.001Z

SKY.fm have just moved the service provider that deals with our Smooth Jazz Events Newsletter.

If you aren't already signed up please take a minute to do so on the right, so that we can keep you updated when we have new dates to tell you about or when tickets go on sale.

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Michael Lington & Richard Elliot Live in London

2012-01-28T17:16:00.003Z

It seems like ages (doesn't January appear to have gone on forever?) but we've finally got some live shows coming up soon in London.

First Michael Lington is coming for a two night stopover on Wednesday 15th & Thursday 16th February at Pizza Express in Kings Road, Chelsea. It's the first ever engagement for SKY.fm at the brand new music room at The Pheasantry (Eric Clapton's old home).

Then we have Richard Elliot coming to play 5 shows in 4 nights commencing March 8th.

Tickets for all of these shows are on sale now. Go to The SKY.fm Smooth Jazz Events Page for full details, prices and booking links.

Smooth Jazz 24/7

2012-01-01T15:28:00.002Z

A little over 6 months down the line, it's time to look back on our newest project, which has put DJs on air through the medium of Internet radio and attempted to keep smooth jazz alive in the process. The listenership has tripled during that time and continues to grow, so I'm hoping for big things in the coming year.

I'd like to say a big thanks to Ari and Duy at Sky for giving Smooth Jazz 24/7 the chance in the first place. Also a big thanks to my wife Steph, who contributes a heck of a lot of her time each day to spread the load, and without whom the whole thing would have sunk without trace in month one.

Also a huge thanks to a whole host of people who present shows and/or have recorded sound bites to make Smooth Jazz 24/7 what it is. Namely, Carmen Kennedy, Lynda Clayton, Dianna Rose, Bruce Nazarian, Lynn Briggs, Oli Silk, Marc Antoine, Nick Colionne, Euge Groove, Dave Koz, Paul Brown, Peter White, Stewart Coxhead, Miles Gilderdale, Boney James, Brian Simpson, Brian Culbertson, Jeff Golub, Jessy J, Jeff Lorber, Jonathan Fritzen, Michael Lington, Mindi Abair, Paul Hardcastle, Richard Elliot, Steve Oliver & Victor Fields.

The biggest thanks of all goes to our fantastic listeners who tune in daily. Without you it wouldn't be happening at all.

Best of 2011

2011-12-18T21:17:00.004Z

Here's a list of the best smooth jazz songs from the releases of 2011. Once again a reminder that these are not compiled from any sales charts or the suchlike, but these are the top 25 songs according to me. Album of the year has to go to Euge Groove for S7ven Large:

1. The Rippingtons – Bandol
2. Euge Groove – S7ven Large
3. Player A – Coming On
4. Boney James – Contact
5. Larry Carlton – I’ll Be Around
6. Richard Elliot - Panamera
7. Jessy J – Meant To Be
8. Acoustic Alchemy – Marcus
9. Euge Groove – Love Wont Let Me Wait
10. Neamen Lyles – Who Dat
11. Paul Hardcastle – Night Time Hustle
12. George Benson – My Cherie Amour
13. Euge Groove – To The Nines
14. Craig Sharmat – Something About You
15. Cindy Bradley – You Don’t Know What Love Is
16. Kool & Klean – I Smile
17. Richard Elliot – Metropolis
18. Neamen Lyles – Remember The Time
19. Euge Groove – Track 01
20. Acoustic Alchemy – Swamp Top
21. Boney James - Spin
22. Kim Waters - Heart Seeker
23. Maysa – Have Sweet Dreams
24. Jessy J with Paul Brown – Remember The Night
25. Nick Colionne – Windy Dance

And just in case you missed the rundown on the Live Show today. Here's the archive of it.

The SKY fm Smooth Jazz Sunday Live Show on livestream.com.

Oli Silk at Pizza Express Jazz Club This Weekend.

2011-10-18T13:46:00.004Z

Only 4 days to go...

Book Now! SKY.fm/events

Here's one from Euge.

2011-10-14T23:41:00.002Z

Recorded at Pizza Express.

Oli Silk next weekend.

http://www.sky.fm/events

Euge Groove currently rocking the UK

2011-10-04T09:48:00.002Z

We're about midway through the UK mini tour with Euge Groove. Since last Friday he's been seriously rocking the house at Pizza Express Jazz club. There are still two nights to go there and then it's on to the Stables in Milton Keynes for Friday Night.

If you've not caught Euge's show yet then you should make a date for one of the remaining nights before you miss out.

Details and booking links on the SKY fm Events page.

Smooth Jazz 24/7 now live!

2011-06-07T13:53:00.004Z

It's Tuesday. Launch day! And SKY fm's newest channel is on the air. Smooth Jazz 24/7 is now broadcasting and with an impressive line up of presenters.

And today we have two special guest presenters as well, so tune in at 1pm Eastern/10am Pacific to hear Oli Silk's first ever stint as a radio jock. And at 3pm Eastern/12 Noon Pacific Dave Koz takes the chair for two hours.

Links for listening are available on the SKY.fm Homepage, and also on the Smooth Jazz 24/7 website.

You can also get the new channel and all of your smooth jazz radio favorites on your iPhone, Android or Blackberry with the Sky.fm Apps.

Press Release - Announcing a new radio channel at SKY fm

2011-06-03T15:43:00.003Z

On Tuesday June 7th SKY.fm will launch a fourth smooth jazz channel to its existing line-up, entitled Smooth Jazz 247.

The playlist will be a compilation of the best material from Sky's other three smooth jazz channels, but with the addition of presenters throughout much of the day, including guest artist presenters from the world of smooth jazz.

SKY are hoping that the new channel will appeal to people who have lost their local smooth jazz station in the last year or two. The addition of presenters should provide a station sound that will be more familiar to US based terrestrial smooth jazz radio fans.

Many of the industry's top names have kindly provided some liners to help make things sound a little more personal than traditional Internet Radio fare and the whole delivery is designed to be very free flowing.

Expect further announcements over the coming weekend with regard to presenters and line-ups for the coming week. To keep on top of things, please follow the Smooth Jazz 247 Twitter and Facebook pages.

Brian Culbertson Sells Out The UK

2011-04-25T20:35:00.002Z

Less than a fortnight to go until Brian Culbertson arrives for a series of shows on British soil, and already there's hardly a spare seat to be had at Pizza Express Jazz Club in London. Of all of the shows there, only Monday 9th May now has seats available.

There are still some seats to be had for the performances at The Stables in Milton Keynes on Wednesday 11th May and Pizza Express in Maidstone on Thursday 12th May, but don't delay if you want to catch Brian in the UK. Booking links and availability can be found on the SKY.fm Events Page.

Meanwhile here's an opportunity to capture that Pizza Express atmosphere with a video from the recent visit from Rick Braun & Richard Elliot.

Brian Culbertson Returns To The UK

2011-03-19T22:19:00.003Z

It was just under a year ago now that Brian Culbertson made his first return to the UK in 10 years at Pizza On The Park in Knightsbridge The venue has since ceased to be, and whilst anyone who attended any of Brian's shows will tell you that he brought the house down, it wasn't literal. It was the end of the lease that saw off Pizza On The Park in the end.

The good news is that Brian is coming back in early May to play at a number of venues including Pizza Express Jazz Club, The Stables in Milton Keynes and Pizza Express in Maidstone. He'll be bringing along his father Jim Culbertson to play trumpet. The rest of the line up is Andy Whitmore (also on keyboards), Marc Parnell (drums), Otto Williams (bass) and Derek Nash (sax).

Tickets are already on sale. In fact, at the time of writing the early show on Saturday at Pizza Express Jazz Club is sold out, and the Friday and Sunday shows aren't far behind. So if you want to be sure of catching Brian's amazing show, then visit The SKY.fm Events Page for details of all dates and venues plus booking links and box office telephone numbers.

Rick Braun & Richard Elliot In The UK

2011-02-24T11:52:00.002Z

There's only a week to go now until Rick Braun and Richard Elliot return to rock the UK for a 7 day mini tour. Last year's visit was a jaw dropping exprerience so if you missed it then you should definitely make a date for this time around.

The guys start at Pizza Express Jazz Club in London on Thursday March 3rd, and continue for another 6 shows in 5 nights until Tuesday 8th March. They finish up on Thursday 10th March at The Stables in Milton Keynes.

Seats are all on sale now and can be booked through The SKY fm Events Page. Alternatively you can book for Pizza Express on 020 7439 4962 and for The Stables on 01908 280 800.

Rick & Richard will be joined by Simply Red's Mark Jaimes on guitar, Andy Whitmore on keyboards, Frank Felix on bass and Marc parnell on drums.

Still not convinced? Take a look at a clip from last year...

Marc Antoine & Paul Brown in the UK

2011-01-31T14:43:00.002Z

Smooth jazz returns to Pizza Express Jazz Club in London tomorrow when Paul Brown and Marc Antoine take up residency for 5 nights.

They started out at the Maidstone branch of Pizza Express last weekend and continue with six shows (2 on Saturday) at the London Jazz Club.

Joining them will be Oli Silk on keyboards, Otto Williams on bass and Tony Mason on drums. The Saturday night early show is sold out but currently there are seats available for all other shows. Call 020 7439 4962 or book online here.

The Best of 2010

2011-01-02T20:26:00.002Z

Here's the list the best songs of 2010, as broadcast on the live show on Sunday 2nd january 2011.

Please note that these are not based on sales or requests. They are my choices. You won't be surprised to learn that I thought that Brian Simpson's "South Beach" was the album of the year:

1.Brian Simpson – Our Love
2.Renato Falaschi (w. Rocco Ventrella) – Waiting In Vain
3.Brian Culbertson – That's Life
4.Jonathan Butler – Make Room For Me
5.Marc Antoine – Dreamer
6.Dave Koz – This Guy's In Love With You
7.Brian Simpson – Lay It On Me
8.Oli Silk – All We Need
9.Fourplay – Love TKO
10.Norman Brown – Thinking About You
11.Brian Simpson – All I Want Is You
12.Oli Silk – Latin Haze
13.Brian Culbertson – It's Time
14.Paul Brown – Sugar Fish
15.Dave Koz – Anything's Possible
16.Brian Simpson – South Beach
17.Marc Antoine - Carmen B
18.Jazzmasters – Touch And Go
19.Paul Brown - Right Back At Ya
20.Jonathan Fritzen – Dance With Me
21.Fourplay – Pineapple Getaway
22.Andrea Razzauti – Black Sand
23.Chris Standring – Stop This Train
24.Jonathan Fritzen – Feeling The Groove
25.Steve Oliver – Global Kiss
26.Nils – Sara Smile
27.Jaared – Dancing With You
28.Jonathan Fritzen – Fly Away
29.Steve Oliver – Fun In The Sun
30.Mezzoforte – Wandering Soul

New Sky Smooth Jazz Wallpaper

2010-12-19T21:19:00.003Z

There has been a slight change to the Sky FM logo, so here's an update to the desktop wallpaper that was created a while back.

To get it, first click the image on the right to get the wallpaper up on your screen then click again to magnify to full size. Then right click and "Set As Desktop Background" (Firefox), or "Set As Background" (Internet Explorer). One size should fit all.

Chuck Loeb comes to London

2010-09-24T16:13:00.004Z

Only a week to go until Fourplay's newest recruit comes to play at Pizza Express Jazz Club in London's Soho.

Chuck is to play four shows in two nights. Namely Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd October.

At the time of writing you can still get seats for all shows. However if you want to be there call 020 7439 4962 or book online at Pizza Express Live without delay.

Chuck will be accompanied by Oli Silk on keyboards, Frank Felix on bass and Andrew Small on drums.

Keep up to date with all forthcoming smooth jazz happenings in the UK by visiting the Sky FM Events Page. You can also sign up for our mailing list on that page so that you'll receive an email when tickets become available.

Jeff Golub & Mindi Abair at Pizza Express Jazz Club

2010-09-03T13:27:00.002Z

Jeff & Mindi start their four night run at Pizza Express in London this evening. Tonight's show is sold out, but there's still some availability for the remaining nights through to Monday (Although the Saturday early performance is filling up quite fast at the time of writing).

To reserve seats either call 020 7439 4962 or visit the Pizza Express Live Website. Tickets are priced from £22.

Jeff Lorber at Pizza Express Jazz Club

2010-08-05T16:23:00.003Z

A series of six shows in five nights featuring Jeff Lorber at Pizza Express Jazz Club starts tomorrow night.

Unfortunately, at the time of writing the Friday show is sold out. The early show on Saturday is filling up fast too.

So book now to avoid disappointment at the Pizza Express Live Website, or alternatively you can book over the phone on 020 7439 4962.

Jeff is at Pizza Express until Tuesday 10th August. He'll be featuring tracks and signing copies of his new CD, "Now Is The Time". Joining Jeff will be Carl Stanley on Sax, Andrew Small on drums & Orefo Orakwue on bass.

Sky Fm Vocal Smooth Jazz is now on the air

2010-07-03T15:01:00.002Z

Sky asked me to program a vocal smooth channel last year and I was initially rather daunted by the task. Mainly because the vocal material that gets played on most smooth jazz stations consists mostly of 80's soul artists like Sade, Anita Baker & Freddie Jackson, mixed up with the likes of Phil Collins and Sting. And most of the messages we get from listeners thank us for NOT playing those artists.

So I set about producing a channel that keeps as true to the smooth jazz concept as possible whilst steering clear of the aforementioned stereotypes. It hasn't been easy, but hopefully the result is going to be pleasing to the air.

Sky FM Vocal Smooth Jazz is now live. I hope you like it.

Marc Antoine in London

2010-06-16T10:28:00.002Z

Only a week to go until Marc Antoine starts his 4 night run at Pizza Express Jazz Club in London's Soho.

Marc will be accompanied by Oli Silk for these shows and both guys have a new track to add to the set. Tickets are selling fast but at the time of writing there's still availability on all nights. Shows start Wednesday 23rd June and run through until Saturday 26th. There are two shows on the Saturday night.

Seats are £25 and can be booked online at PizzaExpresslive.co.uk. Or you can call the Pizza Express Bookings Line on 020 7439 4962.

I'm looking forward to meeting Sky listeners there. Hope you can make it.

Dave Koz UK Tour Is About to Commence

2010-03-30T18:20:00.003Z

Dave Koz hits UK soil for an 11 day stopover which takes in 4 venues and promises to be something to remember. It all kicks off this Thursday April 1st in Milton Keynes.

Brian Simpson will be on keyboards and guitarist Randy Jacobs is also making the trip over from LA.

Visit The Sky FM Events Page for a full list of dates and links to all of the venues. Please note that some shows are already sold out.

Here's a video from last year at Pizza Express Jazz Club to wet your appetite.

Smooth Jazz in the UK

2010-02-18T21:17:00.003Z

Although the smooth jazz genre has had a tough ride recently, things in the UK are beginning to look a little brighter. The saturation of Sky FM Smooth Jazz via the Internet and the re-launching of Jazz FM means that awareness of the genre in the UK is definitely on the increase.

The number of artists from the smooth jazz world that are interested in coming to play here is ever growing, and we've been able to spread our wings a little this year and take the Sky FM Smooth Jazz experience to newer pastures. So as well as Pizza Express Jazz Club we'll be visiting The Stables in Milton Keynes, The Forum in Norwich, Pizza On the Park in London's Knightsbridge and Pizza Express in Maidstone.

I've been talking a lot recently with Steve Quirk at Jazz FM and they will be attempting to add venues and dates in Manchester alongside the Sky dates wherever it's logistically possible.

Already confirmed are, Braun & Elliot, Dave Koz, Brian Culbertson, Jeff Lorber, Marc Antoine, Jessy J, Michael Lington, Mindi Abair, Oli Silk & Brian Simpson. And that's all before the end of August.

Be sure to bookmark the Sky FM Events Page, as it's the first place to get all the news on ticket availability and prices. As soon as we have confirmation of further dates and artists we'll update the events list. You can also sign up for our email newsletters on that page too.

Another Smooth Jazz Station Bites the Dust

2010-01-03T11:31:00.003Z

This week WNWV "The Wave" in Cleveland has flipped formats, pushing their smooth jazz content onto the digital radio platform.

Whilst this is potentially good news for Sky.fm Smooth Jazz, as whenever these changes occur people inevitably turn the Internet for their smooth jazz fix and an awful lot of them find us, the long term outlook is not particularly rosy as the genre itself is now becoming threatened.

The change at WNWV is attributed to the PPM (Portable People Meter), a device used by Arbitron, who rolled out the PPM, a pager-sized device that electronically records what the person is listening to. The information collected is uploaded each night to Arbitron via a modem.

I'm personally not surprised that the results of this device have shown a decline in listeners to smooth jazz stations (many more have already "flipped" as a result of the PPM data). I've lost count of the amount of communications I receive from people who have found Sky.fm Smooth Jazz when their local station has changed formats. They mostly say things like "Why didn't I find you before?" and more importantly "You actually play smooth jazz!".

In fact most of the mail we have received over the last few years has pretty much followed the same pattern. People are really tired with getting served up 20-30 year old tracks by Sade, Al Jarreau, Anita Baker, Simply Red, Luther Vandross, Phil Collins, etc in the name of smooth jazz. It doesn't have to be that way.

On Sky we play none of the aforementioned. I guess it's a bonus that in the case of Internet radio we can see when people tune away and of course we know exactly what song was playing when they went. It was this information that helped me produce and prune the playlist for my original smooth jazz project "Soft Jazz FM" back in 2001 (still the #1 smooth jazz station on Live365.com after 9 years) and it was this information that I used for Sky in 2004. It took about a couple of years for Sky Smooth Jazz to become the World's #1 Internet Smooth Jazz station. We have been in the top slot ever since.

So I humbly submit that there's nothing wrong with the genre, it's the station playlists that are killing smooth jazz.

Best of 2009

2009-12-27T20:31:00.001Z

Here's the rundown of the best songs of 2009, as broadcast on the live show on Sunday 27th December.

Please note that these are not based on sales or requests. They are simply the best smooth jazz tracks of 2009 as I see it:

1. George Benson – Living In High Definition
2. Jessy J – Baila!
3. Paul Brown & Marc Antoine – Foreign Exchange
4. Boney James – I Wanna Show U Sumthin'
5. Peter White – Always, Forever
6. Jessy J – Tropical Rain
7. Rick Braun – Puerto Allegre Jam
8. Jay Soto – Oasis
9. Peter White – Bright
10. Alan Hewitt – Shaft
11. Paul Brown & Marc Antoine – Flight Of The Conchords
12. Nils – Soul Mates
13. Boney James – I'll Be Good To You
14. Rippingtons – Paris Groove
15. Peter White – Good Day
16. Jessy J – Somewhere In A Dream
17. Euge Groove – The Gospel Truth
18. Gregg Karukas – Floating In Bahia
19. Richard Elliot – Move On Up
20. Paul Brown & Marc Antoine – Wine Night
21. Jimmy Sommers – Georgia On My Mind
22. Paul Hardcastle – The Circle
23. The Sax Pack – Wanna Get Closer
24. Boney James – I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby
25. Jessy J – True Love

Enjoy 2010. And always keep it Sky.fm Smooth Jazz!

Best wishes,

JK

Oli Silk live in the Studio

2009-12-07T17:53:00.002Z

Oli came in for his traditional Christmas visit to the Sunday show yesterday, and while he was here he played "De-Stress Signal" live on air. The video is below. However if you click on the Youtube logo bottom right, you will be able to view it in full HD 1080 (don't forget to click the "HD" button when you get there).

New Gigs for 2010

2009-12-04T21:41:00.003Z

We are hoping to expand on our presence at the Pizza Express Jazz Club (and beyond) throughout 2010. Our first few shows are now official and therefore published for all to see at:

www.sky.fm/smoothjazz/events/

So if you fancy some UK Smooth Jazz make a point of signing up for our mailing list at the bottom of the events page, and we'll make sure that you're the first to know when seats go on sale.

The Sax Pack live in the studio today

2009-11-22T12:44:00.002Z

Just a reminder that The live show will have three guests today (22nd November). Kim Waters, Steve Cole & Jeff Kashiwa, aka The Sax Pack. We will have to finish half an hour early however, as I have to get them over to Club 1 in Ascot for tonights show.

So we wont be able to do the usual round of acknowledgements. Instead we'll be taking questions for the three guys. If you have a question please use either facebook chat, or write on my facebook wall at www.facebook.com/SkyFMSmoothJazz once the show starts.

5pm UK, 12 Midday Eastern & 9am Pacific time.

Paul Brown & Marc Antoine - Foreign Exchange

2009-10-17T21:27:00.001Z

Live at Pizza Express Jazz Club in London

Jessy J - Tropical Rain

2009-10-10T13:29:00.002Z

Live at Pizza Express Jazz Club in London

Guests on the live show tomorrow

2009-10-10T13:15:00.002Z

There'll be three guests in the studio on tomorrow's live show. No prizes for guessing that it's Marc Antoine, Paul Brown & Jessy J. 5pm UK, 12 noon USA EST & 9am Pacific.

Once again let me remind you that if you have previously had problems viewing the video feed for the show it's worth downloading and trying VLC Media Player. It's free and works on PC, Mac & Linux and plays just about any video format without a fuss.

Marc Antoine, Paul Brown & Jessy J in London

2009-10-03T09:37:00.001Z

Only a few days left now until Marc, Paul & Jessy arrive for a five night stopover at Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho.

It all kicks off on Wednesday evening, so if you haven't done so, book your seat now on 020 7439 4962 or visit Pizza Express Live and book online.

Some nights have limited availability.

Marc Antoine, Paul Brown & Jessy J at Pizza Express

2009-09-17T08:11:00.004Z

Less than three weeks to go before the next smooth jazz experience at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in London.

This time Marc Antoine and Paul Brown will bring songs from their new collaboration "Foreign Exchange" for your listening pleasure. And if that's not enough to wet your appetite then Jessy J will be on board to play some tracks from her new CD "True Love" as well.

Needless to say tickets are selling quite briskly, and are available now on the Pizza Express website at http://pizzaexpresslive.co.uk/jazzList.aspx, or you can call and book seats on 020 7439 4962 (if you're overseas dial +44 20 7439 4962).

Here's hoping to see you there.

Pizza Express Jazz Club

2009-09-11T00:21:00.004Z

We still have some seats for the remaining four shows over two nights at Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho, London to see Steve Oliver, Michael Lington & Bob Baldwin. Call 0845 6027 017 or go to The Pizza Express Jazz Club Bookings Site if you want to see the show.

Also, seats for the next Sky.fm Smooth Jazz show are now on sale (although not on the website yet). So once again call 0845 6027 017 to reserve your seat to See Marc Antoine, Paul Brown & Jessy J at Pizza Expess from Wednesday 7th to Sunday 11th October.

Michael Lington, Steve Oliver & Bob Baldwin Live!

2009-08-25T11:39:00.005Z

Another smooth jazz triple bill is coming in a couple of weeks at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in London's Soho. The dates are Wednesday 9th until Saturday 12th September. Note that there are double shows on the Friday and Saturday.

You can reserve seats now to see Michael Lington, Steve Oliver and Bob Baldwin when they play six shows in four nights at London's favourite jazz venue, in association with Sky.fm Smooth Jazz.

You can reserve seats over the phone on 020 7734 3220 or book online at the Pizza Express Website. I'll be introducing all of the shows as usual. Looking forward to meeting one and all at the club.

Jeff Lorber & Jeff Golub Tickets

2009-07-28T12:25:00.002Z

There are still a few seats available for tonights show with the two Jeffs at Pizza Express Jazz Club in London's Soho.

Wednesday and Thursday are completely sold out.

If you want to see the show tonight call 020 7734 3220 or visit

http://www.pizzaexpresslive.co.uk/jazzList.aspx

Videos from Pizza Express in May♦♦

2009-06-27T10:42:00.003Z

Here is the complete collection of all the footage that made it to Youtube from the gigs featuring Dave Koz, Nick Colionne & Brian Simpson at the Pizza Express Jazz Club.

If you never got to see the shows then this is a great way to experience the event. All of the tracks featured here are HD recordings so don't forget to click the HD icon to see them in the best quality. Also, if you click the button to the right of the HD icon you could open them up full screen size any time you like and it'll be just like being there!

Jeff Lorber & Jeff Golub at Pizza Express

2009-06-12T08:29:00.003Z

The two Jeffs hit London in association with Sky.fm Smooth Jazz for a four night stopover at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in London's Soho, from Monday 27th July to Thursday 30th July.

Tickets are £25 and on sale now! You can reserve seats on the Pizza Express booking line, 020 7734 3220. Callers outside the UK call +44 20 7734 3220.

You can also reserve seats online on the Pizza Express Bookings Website

The Big weekend has arrived

2009-05-08T14:55:00.002Z

As I write we are just three or so hours away from the monster smooth jazz line-up at Pizza Express Jazz Club in London.

Dave Koz, Nick Colionne and Brian Simpson will take the stage for what promises to be a series of shows to remember.

I'll hopefully have some footage to share on Youtube and Facebook, and all three guys are going to be coming on the live show this Sunday for a chat too, so make a date for Sunday and be at the:

Sky.fm Smooth Jazz Live Show

They will be taking questions via Facebook chat so be sure to look in on Sunday at 5pm GMT, 9am Pacific and 12 Noon Eastern.

Here's the Live performance

2009-04-27T10:00:00.002Z

In case you missed it yesterday, here's a clip of Oli playing live on the show. We captured it with an HD camera, so if you follow the link below and click the "HD" button below you can really appreciate it in all its glory.

Oli Silk - The Limit's The Sky

Oli Silk live in the studio today

2009-04-26T12:53:00.002Z

Oli will be jetting off to the USA for a few months soon, so today he's popping in for a chat on the live show. He'll be answering listeners (and viewers) questions and playing a song or two live as well, so be there or be square. 5pm UK, Midday Eastern and 9am Pacific.

www.sky.fm/liveshow

One more encore from Pizza Express in January

2009-04-12T13:39:00.002Z

Hunting through the miles of video files yesterday I found one last clean cut from the Sky.fm Smooth Jazz Week back in January.

Not only that, but I finally got my head around the various codecs, formats, resolutions, bitrates and heaven knows what else required to render an HD version of this particular song, which just happens to be a recent smooth jazz number one from Oli Silk, featuring Jaared on tenor sax, so be sure to click the little button on the video play/time bar that says "HD" to get the full experience. You could almost be there.

So here it is:

Oli Silk - Chill Or Be Chilled

Photos from our shows

2009-04-11T14:25:00.002Z

For those that missed them, here are links to photos taken at the Sky.fm Smooth Jazz gigs in London.

These photo collections are stored on facebook, but you don't have to be a facebook member to view them, so here they are:

Smooth Jazz Week (Jaared, Oli Silk, Rocco Ventrella, Renato Falaschi, Greg Grainger, Frank Felix)

Marc Antoine (with Oli Silk, Greg Grainger, Frank Felix, Joe Becket)

I'll hopefully have some more to add to these in May when Dave Koz, Brian Simpson & Nick Colionne come to town.

And don't forget, to see what shows are coming up, visit

Sky.fm Smooth Jazz Events

Live Tracks on the Live Show

2009-04-04T18:23:00.002Z

A chance to preview what the audience at Pizza Express Jazz club will be experiencing in May when Koz, Simpson & Colionne come to London.

Brian Simpson has kindly let me have a couple of live sound recordings of him in action to play on the live show tomorrow.

They sound great, so make a date for the show tomorrow. 12 noon US EST, 9AM Pacific, 5PM GMT.

Sky.fm Smooth Jazz Live show

The Paul Hardcastle Interview

2009-03-31T20:47:00.001Z

For all those who missed it, here's the visit from the Jazzmaster.

Paul Hardcastle on the live show this Sunday

2009-03-27T12:06:00.002Z

This Sunday the Sky.fm Smooth Jazz Live Show has a special guest in the studio.

Paul Hardcastle will be coming in for a chat. He's also bringing his forthcoming single "The Circle" along too.

Don't miss it.

Sky.fm Smooth Jazz Live Show. All audio feeds can be found here.

The show airs at 12 noon US EST, 9AM US Pacific and 5pm in the UK.

P.S. You REALLY don't want to miss this one!

Dave Koz, Nick Colionne & Brian Simpson at Pizza Express Jazz Club

2009-03-06T10:54:00.003Z

OK the big one is now on sale. Not available on the Pizza Express website yet. Telephone bookings only. 020 7734 3220.

I'd suggest that you don't wait for the website, if you want to be sure of a seat make the call.

Marc Antoine plays Hi-Lo Split

2009-02-28T11:29:00.004Z

If you weren't able to make it to Pizza Express Jazz Club last week then this is the next best thing to being there. A video of Marc playing Hi-Lo Split.

Enjoy! There are a few more cuts to come...

Marc Antoine in the studio tomorrow

2009-02-21T11:20:00.002Z

Tomorrow's live show will have Marc Antoine as a guest in the studio.

Marc is in London to play four nights at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in Dean Street, W1. Monday 23rd to Thursday 26th February.

Also playing at Pizza Express with Marc will be Oli Silk on keyboards, Greg Grainger from Acoustic Alchemy on drums and Frank Felix on bass.

The Thursday show is sold out. At the time of writing there still some seats available for the Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday shows.

Videos from Sky.fm Smooth Jazz Week

2009-02-05T21:19:00.003Z

Whether you were there or not, you can relive the experience of the first ever Sky.fm Smooth Jazz Week at the Pizza Express Jazz Club any time you like by watching the selection of videos featured below.

If you click the arrows either side of the main frame or the little widget next to the play button on the bottom bar you'll see that there are 8 videos in all, which is around three quarters of an hour of footage, so pour yourself something appropriate, turn up the sound and have a blast.

Marc Antoine at Pizza Express

2009-01-28T12:23:00.003Z

Hot on the heels of the Sky.fm Smooth Jazz Week (which was an absolute blast by the way), I'm pleased to announce that Sky.fm is presenting another series of shows in February at the famous Pizza Express Jazz Club in London's West End starring the one and only Marc Antoine.

It will be the first time that Marc has played in the UK for more than 5 years so don't delay reserving your seat if you don't want to miss him as there are only 4 shows.

The dates are Monday 23rd February - Thursday 26 February and Pizza Express are taking bookings here:

Pizza Express Jazz Club Bookings

You can also reserve seats over the phone on 020 7734 3220.

Marc will be accompanied by Oli Silk on keyboards, Frank Felix on bass and Greg Grainger from Acoustic Alchemy on drums.

The Future of Car Radio

2009-01-11T01:30:00.005Z

Well it's obviously going to take a while but it looks like the future of car radio is going to begin a transformation this year. It was always going to happen of course but Blaupunkt are about to launch an in-car Internet radio receiver, that will mean that you will no longer be restricted by geographic location when it comes to your radio listening choice.

The device will rely on your mobile phone and bluetooth to receive the stations and will therefore be subject to your mobile phone network supplying the streaming facility. Of course in the USA this is already happening with some people and networks, although you do have to have to be reasonably savvy in the ways of technology to make it happen, but the forthcoming Blaupunkt units (and those that will ultimately follow) will streamline the process and make it a bit easier to do. At the moment it can be a little clunky to set it all up.

Of course in the UK only millionaires can currently dream of such things as the mobile companies rob us blind with call charge packages and the financial implications of choosing to listen to all of your in-car entertainment over the Internet don't bear thinking about, but obviously that will change... eventually.

Interesting times ahead then. The Blaupunkt systems will operate in conjunction with miRoamer, who, you'll be pleased to know already list Sky.fm Smooth Jazz amongst their featured stations (and all the other Sky channels for that matter).

More details on the Wired Blog, or if you Google "Blaupunkt Internet Radio" you should find plenty of dialogue about the whole thing.

Revised Show Times for Sky.fm Smooth Jazz Week

2009-01-08T21:00:00.005Z

Pizza Express Jazz Club have changed some of their opening/show times this year. This mainly affects the weekday shows but below is a list of all of the times of our shows on the Sky.fm Smooth Jazz week.

Wednesday 21 Jan Doors 7.00pm, Show 8.30pm
Thursday 22 Jan Doors 7.00pm, Show 8.30pm
Friday 23 Jan Early Doors 6.00pm, Show 7.30pm
Friday 23 Jan Late Doors 10.00pm, Show 10.30pm
Saturday 24 Jan Early Doors 6.00pm, Show 7.30pm
Saturday 24 Jan Late Doors 10.00pm, Show 10.30pm
Sunday 25 Jan Doors 6.30, Show 8.00pm

If you haven't booked a table yet, don't forget that you can now do so online:

Pizza Express Jazz Club

You can also book over the phone on 020 7734 3220 (0044 20 7734 3220).

Tickets are selling well so don't delay. To everybody who has already booked, many thanks for supporting the first Sky.fm Smooth Jazz event at Pizza Express.

It's support like that which means that we can bring more smooth jazz artists to the UK.

Looking forward to meeting lots of friendly faces in what is now less than two weeks away!

Best wishes,

Jimi King

Oli Silk's Christmas Visit

2009-01-07T11:44:00.004Z

For anybody that missed it, here's the video of the Sky.fm Smooth Jazz live show on 14th December 2008, featuring Oli Silk.

The Best of 2008

2008-12-28T19:48:00.001Z

Ok here's my list of the top smooth jazz tracks from the year gone by. As always I stress that this is MY list, and not compiled from any charts, sales or the suchlike. Feel free to disregard and/or disagree with it.

1. Kim Waters – Distant Lover
2. Jessy J – Tequila Moon
3. Tim Bowman – Soul Dream
4. Michael Lington – Chuva
5. Fourplay – The Whistler
6. Streetwize – Mary Jane (All Night Long)
7. Vibes Alive – After Hours
8. Kenny G – Besame Mucho
9. Jaared – Piccadilly Circus
10. Oli Silk – Chill Or Be Chilled
11. Jessy J – Poetry Man
12. The Sax Pack – The Sax Pack
13. Joyce Cooling – Come And Get It
14. Bob Baldwin – Third Wind
15. Michael Lington – You & I
16. Dave Koz – Life In The Fast Lane
17. Earl Klugh – Sleepy Head
18. Oli Silk – De-Stress Signal
19. Paul Hardcastle – Dancing Lights
20. Andre Delano – More Than Words Can Say
21. Jaared - Cruising The Strip
22. Nate Harasim – Love’s Taken Over
23. Warren Hill – La Dolce Vita
24. Paul Hardcastle – Return Of The Rainman
25. Gerald Albright – Cheaper To Keep Her

Surprise Guest Renato Falaschi

2008-12-07T22:16:00.002Z

Listeners and Viewers of the Sunday live show were treated to a surprise visit from Renato Falaschi today.

It was a special treat as he played live in the studio to a backing track he'd let me have earlier in the week. The song has no name as yet, but as you can see and hear if you click below, it's coming along nicely.

Renato is part of our line up for the Sky.fm Smooth Jazz Week in January at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in London.

Sky.fm Smooth Jazz Week

2008-12-03T12:49:00.004Z

Hey, we've done it. The world's biggest smooth jazz station is putting on some gigs! The first ones are in London, England with 7 shows over 5 nights at the famous Pizza Express Jazz Club in London's Soho.

Starring Jaared, Oli Silk, Rocco Ventrella & Renato Falaschi. Four artists, One stage. The dates are January 21st through to January 25th.

These guys will be backed by Bruce Nazarian (guitar), Frank Felix (bass) and Greg Grainger (drums), so Acoustic Alchemy fans will doubtless want to come too!

It's the biggest smooth jazz event in the UK for several years and you can reserve seats NOW on the Pizza Express Jazz Club Website, so don't miss out. Places are going fast. You can also reserve seats on the phone. call Pizza Express on 020 7734 3220 (outside the UK dial 0044 20 7734 3220).

Pizza Express Jazz Club is at 10 Dean Street, London, W1D 3RW.

Peter White Interview now available

2008-11-15T21:52:00.002Z

It seems like quite a few people missed Peter White's visit to the live show studio last week, so if you are one of those who were not present then worry no more, here it is. The frame rate is a little jumpy unfortunatley, but the audio is great so enjoy!

Update on the live show today

2008-11-09T11:00:00.002Z

Sorry to report that Jaared will be unable to attend the live show today.

Peter White is still coming though, so be sure to join us. We'll be using a different camera angle too, which might come as a surprise to regular viewers. The visit by Oli Silk a few weeks back highlighted the fact that our current camera has such a wide angle view that in its regular position it tends to give the guest a somewhat "leprechaun" like quality.

So for the duration of the show today the view will be very much "face on".

Yeah I know, scary thought.

Peter White & Jaared on the Live Show this Week

2008-11-08T11:49:00.002Z

Make a date in your diary for this Sunday and the live show as there'll be two guests in the studio because both Peter White and Jarred will be popping in for a chat.

So please come to the party, and if you are a member of Facebook, then make sure that you're friends with Sky Smooth Jazz, then you can use the Facebook chat facility to send messages straight through to the guys in the studio.

The show is at 12 noon US EST, 9AM Pacific and 5PM GMT

Some New Sky.fm Smooth Jazz Wallpaper

2008-11-03T19:07:00.002Z

More doodling downtime in the office a couple of weeks back resulted in a new slice of wallpaper which I'd thought I'd share with Sky Smooth Jazz fans.

It features a sort of 3d version of the Sky logo on a very funky blue background and should fit all desktops up to 1400 pixels wide. Just be sure to set it to "center" rather than "stretch" when you set it up otherwise it will probably appear squashed up.

Click on the thumbnail below to go to the full size version (note that Firefox users will probably have to click once more on the bigger one as FF tends to auto reduce things to fit browser windows these days).

Oli Silk played live in the studio

2008-09-28T21:05:00.003Z

Oli Silk paid another visit to the Sunday Live Show today and brought along some tracks from his forthcoming CD "The Limit's the Sky". He also played along live to "Deuces Wild" too. Here's how it went.

The Smooth Jazz 'Hot' Parade

2008-08-26T20:46:00.004Z

I thought it would be a good way of keeping you up to date on what's hot amongst the recent stuff to hit the playlist on Sky.fm Smooth Jazz. So here are the current top ten, as decreed by me and our lovely listeners, both on the forums and on the live Sunday show. This list has nothing to do with sales. It's all to do with feedback and what basically gives us a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

I can't say when the list will be updated, but here's the selection that's currently special around the end of August.

1. Gerald Albright - I Stand Accused
2. Vibes Alive - After Hours
3. Paul Hardcastle - Marimba
4. Nate Harasim - Loves Taken Over
5. Michael Lington - You & I
6. Tim Bowman - Sweet Sundays
7. Oli Silk - Chill or Be Chilled (Remix)
8. Dave Koz - Life In The Fast Lane
9. Andre Delano - More Than Words Can Say
10. Dave Stewart/Candy Dulfer - Lily Was Here

We now have a group on Facebook

2008-08-24T13:11:00.002Z

There's now a Sky.fm Smooth Jazz Live Show Group at Facebook.com. You can find it here:

Sky.fm Smooth Jazz Live Show Facebook Group

We also have a facebook identity in the name of "Sky Smooth Jazz". You can hopefully use this as another way of sending messages to the studio during the live show with the Facebook chat facility. To be able to interact in this way you need to add Sky Smooth Jazz to your friends here:

Sky Smooth Jazz

Of course you can also chat with other mutual friends at the same time as well.

New Live Show Special Edition Mugs

2008-06-08T14:57:00.002Z

A few of our regulars asked about the possibility of special "Sunday live show" mugs a while back. Some people also expressed a desire for some Caesar mugs too.

So I guess these ought to make everybody happy! The view shows them front and back.

Get them here

New Live show vid on Youtube

2008-05-20T09:11:00.003Z

If you missed it you'll be pleased to know that Jaared's visit to the studio for the live show a couple of weeks back is now up and running on Youtube. Link follows.

Jaared on Sky.fm Smooth Jazz

Peter White in The UK

2008-04-14T10:17:00.004Z

We don't get many smooth jazz artists that make it across the Atlantic to the UK, but Peter White makes it back to his homeland at least once a year and he always brings Jaared along on Sax too. So for the benefit of anyone here in the UK who doesn't already know, they'll both be here as from April 28th with several nights at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in London's Soho, plus a couple of extra dates at The Stables in Milton Keynes and 1 Club in Ascot. PW will also have his brother Danny (of Matt Bianco) on keyboards.

I'll be attending the Pizza Express gig on Thursday May 1st and look forward to meeting any Sky.fm Smooth Jazz listeners who can make it along. Links to book tickets are below:

Pizza Express Jazz Club
The Stables
1 Club

Some classy wallpaper for your desktop

2008-03-09T01:42:00.002Z

OK so there I was playing around with some graphics and one thing led to another and I ended up with some new Sky.fm wallpaper (I guess I should get out more).

Anyway it's a sort of gold plated on a wooden background kinda thing. Not everybody's cup of tea I know, but it's definitely my kinda thing and for me it represents the fact that we are indeed the classiest smooth jazz outfit around, so if it takes your fancy too then just click on the thumbnail below to get the full size picture.

Once loaded (and make sure your browser hasn't downsized it) then right click and select "Set as Background" to save it to your desktop. Make sure you have it set to "center" as opposed to "stretch" or "tile".

Assuming you've done it correctly it'll fit nicely on all screens up to 1280x1024.

Best of 2007

2008-01-06T19:21:00.000Z

Just finished the "Best of 2007" show, where we play the finest selection from the past year. I should stress that they are the finest according to me, and not any chart or list produced from sales or radio play. So feel free to disagree with me. I ended up with a top 25 this year, as I was unable to whittle it down any further!

Best Smooth Jazz tracks of 2007

1. Rick Braun, Richard Elliot – Q It Up
2. Brian Simpson – Above The Clouds
3. Everette Harp – Juke Joint
4. Euge Groove – A Summer Nights Dream
5. Renato Falaschi – Just The Way You Are
6. Acoustic Alchemy – Carlos The King
7. Euge Groove – Religify
8. Jimmy Sommers, Paul Brown – Happy Days
9. U-Nam – Turn Your Love Around
10. Rick Braun, Richard Elliot – RNR
11. Euge Groove – Born 2 Groove
12. Everette Harp - Don’t Look Any Further
13. Brian Simpson – Whatcha Gonna Do?
14. Kim Waters – Inseparable
15. Marc Antoine – For A Smile
16. Ken Navarro – Lucky
17. Kim Waters – Got To Give It Up
18. Acoustic Alchemy – Only In My Dreams
19. Brian Simpson – The Last Kiss
20. Jaared – Your Smile
21. Paul Brown – White Sand
22. Nils – Dreamin’
23. Mark Antoine – Forever
24. Chuck Loeb – Good To Go
25. Norman Brown – Let’s Take A Ride

Miles Gilderdale Video

2008-01-05T12:19:00.000Z

The video of the interview last Sunday with Miles Gilderdale from Acoustic Alchemy is now available on YouTube for anybody who missed it.

You can find it at the following link:

Miles Gilderdale - Acoustic Alchemy

Sky.fm Listeners

2008-01-04T11:42:00.001Z

Many moons ago we started a Frappr map, which allows us to see where all our listeners are. It also allows everybody to post up some pictures and leave a comment or two, so I thought it might be a good idea to re-create it here (truth be told I just found out that it was possible!).

So here it is. Feel free to click around and add yourself. Most of the buttons become fairly obvious when you click them. If you click the one that says "Stats, Pics & Map Members" at the bottom you can open up the whole darn Frappr page in all its glory and have a real ball!

Oli Silk Visit Now On You Tube

2008-01-01T15:45:00.000Z

For the benefit of anybody who missed it (or who wants to see it again), Oli Silks visit to the show on December 16th is now on YouTube.

Actually if I've comprehended their swanky new custom player thingy properly then you'll find both parts of it below, along with his visit with Jaared a few months earlier. I even chose a sort of Sky.fm color scheme for the whole presentation too! Just click a thumbnail on the right to view one of the other videos. Hey it works too! How cool is that?

Miles Gilderdale Interview

2007-12-27T10:50:00.001Z

There was a bit of a mix up over the date for the interview with Miles from Acoustic Alchemy last week. As a result he'll be visiting the studio THIS Sunday 30th December, so please do check out the live show for that one.

Because of that change in plans I'll do the "Best Songs of 2007" the following week (January 6th).

Christmas Guests

2007-12-15T19:57:00.000Z

It's looking like we're going to be lucky enough to have some talent from the world of smooth jazz passing our way on the Sunday live video show as things get a little festive.

All being well, tomorrow (the 16th) Oli Silk is going to be dropping in, and the following Sunday (the 23rd) we'll be having a visit from Miles Gilderdale of Acoustic Alchemy.

So make a date in your diary for the live show on Sky.fm Smooth Jazz, this and every Sunday 5pm London time, Midday New York and 9am in LA.

Sky.fm Smooth Jazz Mugs 'n' Stuff

2007-12-02T20:14:00.000Z

Regular listeners to the live show have been enquiring about Sky.fm branded goods for some time now.

I'm pleased to say they are now available, and what's more there are even some things that are specific to the smooth jazz channel too.

If you want to bookmark the Sky.fm Store you'll find the ever expanding selection of goodies here.

Bruce Was Back in Town

2007-11-27T19:29:00.000Z

It was good to see Bruce Nazarian back in London a couple of Sundays ago.

We took the opportunity to have a chat on the show and do some catch up on Rocco's CD. It turns out that the CD is one of those being considered for a Grammy nomination.

You can find out more in the video archive of that chat by clicking the link below.

Bruce Nazarian

A Visit from Jaared and Oli Silk

2007-10-30T00:04:00.000Z

I was pleased to have a couple of guests on the show on Sunday. Peter White was in town this past week and had Jaared and Oli Silk on stage with him throughout. They all had a show out in Southend on Sunday afternoon but Jaared & Oli made it back to West London in time to pop in for a visit before moving on to Pizza Express in Soho.

Thanks to last minute permission from Les Cutmore at Trippin 'n' Rythym Records we were allowed to air a couple of tracks from Jaared's forthcoming CD "Addiction", which will be out in February 2008.

Wanna see that visit and hear those exclusive tracks? just click below...

Jaared and Oli Silk on Sky.fm

New Camera for the Studio

2007-10-14T10:23:00.001Z

Well Summer has been and gone (jury's out on whether it was ever actually here in the UK) and as the availability of daylight diminishes I thought it was time to upgrade the studio camera to something that could deal with low light situations better.

Thankfully Logitech have recently come up with one featuring a Carl Zeiss lens and special light adjusting software that should hopefully make all the difference. I tested it out during the week and it looks good.

Below you can see a screen grab, and regular viewers will notice that it also gives a wider view of the studio so you should also be able to see an extra monitor screen that was previously out of camera shot.

The real road test is today so join us today at 12 noon US EST, 9AM Pacific, 5PM GMT.

The live show address is, as always http://www.sky.fm/liveshow/

The Biggest, the Best and...

2007-08-05T14:38:00.001Z

...it appears that we're also the most up to date too.

So much new material comes our way these days. Largely due to the fact that we receive a hefty chuck of pre-release material from professional sources and record companies (a big thanks to Rob at Sky.fm who deals with it all so well at our end), not to mention the artists themselves.

All of which means that Sky.fm Smooth Jazz is now the oracle of all that's hot in the smooth jazz world.

Our live Sunday show has become the perfect showcase for all that's hot and current so be sure to listen in (or even look in if you so desire with our live video stream) each Sunday at 12 noon USA EST, 9am Pacific and 5pm UK time.

You'll find all the relevant links to launch the smooth jazz channel at www.sky.fm/smoothjazz or if you'd like to watch the show as well as listen go to www.sky.fm/liveshow and you can really be in on the action.

June 26th. A quiet day in radio

2007-06-25T22:46:00.001Z

A large number of Internet Radio broadcasters, including Sky.fm and DI.fm are participating in a day of silence on Tuesday June 26th to help raise public awareness of the imminent threat to the continuation of Internet radio in the wake of recent raises in the royalty payments.

Sky's premium services will continue as normal.

You can read more about the day of silence on the DI Blog here.

You nearly had me there!

2007-06-10T19:28:00.001Z

It's always nice to have friends in high places.

Today's Live show was broadcast at the same time as the Space Shuttle Atlantis was docking with the International Space Station.

I mentioned that it would be great if they were listening to the show up there. A little while later Rommie, one of our regular listeners in Germany posted the following picture on the Sky.fm forum.

Nice one Rommie. If only!

The clock is still ticking

2007-06-06T20:42:00.000Z

It's touching to hear of the efforts of many Sky.fm listeners to keep things alive. Many have donated money to the legal battle to keep Internet radio on the air too.

At this time webcasters have launched a federal appeal against the new charges. I understand however, that the appeal might not be heard until July 15th. The day that is now becoming universally known as "The day the music dies".

Please visit www.savenetradio.org to keep up to date with developments. And, if you haven't already done so, to find out how you can contact your congressman to tell him your thoughts on the mater.

They're trying to switch us off!

2007-05-02T09:00:00.000Z

Just in case you're not aware, the future of Internet radio is on very shaky ground at the moment. I speak in my position as Programme Controller of Sky.fm Smooth Jazz and Sky.fm Uptempo Smooth Jazz. My position as a citizen of the United Kingdom is powerless as the situation is dependent on United States legislation (UK Internet radio is already pretty much unworkable).

Ari Shohat, CEO of Sky/DI has posted this message in his own DI Blog, which explains the situation in full and tells how - if you are a US citizen - you can act to change the situation before it is too late. You can also find out more at http://www.savenetradio.org/.

Please take a moment to read up on the situation and then a moment longer to contact your congressperson. Don't assume that it'll all be OK. Two weeks from now ALL of your favorite Internet stations may no longer exist.

Peter White interview video now live on Youtube

2007-04-23T08:02:00.000Z

I know that a lot of people are waiting for this one, so if that would apply to you, then the good news is that it's now up and running at youtube.com.

Peter visited us on Easter Sunday for the second time and stayed for nearly an hour and a half while we played some of his songs and answered questions put by Sky.fm listeners on the forum.

As usual the video is split into two parts, as follows:

Peter White - Part One

Peter White - Part Two

Peter's visit was his second to the Sunday live show. His previous one, for the benefit of any that missed it, is still live on the Sky.fm servers here.

Peter White was a surprise guest on Easter Sunday

2007-04-20T18:34:00.000Z

It was all a bit last minute, in fact I only had it confirmed about two hours before the show went live, but we were graced with a guest appearance from Peter White on Easter Sunday. A sort of anniversary of his previous appearance which was on Easter Sunday last year.

As it was such a last minute thing, many will have missed it, so I'll have it on Youtube in a few days from now.

Meanwhile (and my apologies for the lateness) the video of the appearance of Greg Carmichael from Acoustic Alchemy back in January is now available for viewing. Part of the reason for the delay is because the actual video part is very jerky due to the bandwidth problems we were having at the time, and I was undecided about whether to use it. But I'm sure that a lot of Acoustic Alchemy fans would love to hear what was said in spite of the video quality anyway.

The video is split into two parts because of the length restrictions on Youtube. Here are the links

Greg Carmichael - Part One

Greg Carmichael - Part Two

The Best of 2006

2006-12-31T19:50:00.001Z

Here is my annual list of the best smooth jazz tracks from this year, as played on the live show December 31st 2006.

I should point out that these are my personal choices and not compiled from any sales figures, listener stats or the suchlike. And with that in mind I make no apologies if you think that anyone is overrated or underrated, missing or otherwise. It is however typical of the playlist here on Sky.fm Smooth Jazz, so if you like the output here and you are looking for some smooth jazz for your personal collection, then these guys might be a good place to start...

1. Rocco Ventrella – Soulful Strut
2. Peter White – What Does It Take
3. Shilts – Look What’s Happened
4. Michael Lington – It’s Too Late
5. Peter White – Déjà Vu
6. Rocco Ventrella – Alleria
7. Pieces Of A Dream – Sailing
8. Fourplay – Cinnamon Sugar
9. Oli Silk – Eve’s Song
10. Shilts - Say Something
11. Bob Baldwin – Never Can Say Goodbye
12. Steve Oliver – Tradewinds
13. David Benoit – Neat With A Twist
14. Rocco Ventrella – Feel Like Making Love
15. Adrian Conington – Neon Nights
16. Igor – Brazilian Nights
17. Chris Standring - I Can’t Help Myself
18. Jazzmasters – World In Action
19. Boney James – Hypnotic
20. George Benson/Al Jarreau – Morning
21. Rippingtons – Costa Del Sol
22. Peter White – One On One
23. Nick Colionne – You Were There For Me
24. Fourplay – Sunday Morning
25. Adrian Conington - Open To Persuasion

Oli Silk Video

2006-12-23T18:39:00.000Z

You can now see the archive of the interview with Oli Silk, that took place on the Sunday live show December 10th. We did have a bit of a laugh. Hope that you enjoy it!

Oli Silk Interview

Rocco Ventrella Video

2006-12-18T10:59:00.000Z

At last, the video (or should I say videos) of Rocco's Visit on December 3rd. He came to the studio with Bruce Nazarian who also produced and played on the forthcoming CD. You can hear quite a few of the tracks on these vids. At the time of writing they are still being played exclusively on Sky.fm Smooth Jazz! The appearance is split into two parts. Just click either link below to visit Youtube.com and play the video...

Part 1

Part 2

World firsts!

2006-11-26T21:57:00.000Z

We were honoured today to be the first radio station in the world to feature a couple of tracks from Rocco Ventrella's forthcoming CD. They are now part of our playlist and even better news, Rocco will be live in the studio himself with even more material on next Sunday's show (December 3rd)

Free Download

2006-11-23T17:56:00.001Z

Many thanks to Rene ("Smoothnews" on the Sky Forum) for alerting me to the following.

Artizen Music are offering a free download of the Paul Brown remix of Shilts "Look What's Happening" for a limited period. Wanna copy? Then visit http://www.shiltsmedia.com/ . The download link is on the lefthand side.

Oh er, I wouldn't hang around on that one if I were you. Limited time only.

Getting Up To Date

2006-11-21T11:27:00.000Z

OK to catch up with things. I visited New York along with the family back in October, and whilst there took the opportunity to broadcast the Sunday live show from the Sky.fm offices in Manhattan. The video of that show (which also features Sky founder Ari Shohat) has found it's way onto Youtube.com here. It's in two parts, so if you've never caught the live show before, now's the chance.

If that leaves you gagging for more, there's an archive video from the London studio when Peter White visited back in Easter of 2006 to be found here. Thats a Windows Media Player file BTW.

The most recent development at Sky from a smooth jazz point of view is the launch of our new uptempo smooth jazz channel (the link is on the right), which is proving to be a great success. My aim with this stream is to create a breakfast show/morning drive kind of vibe. Enjoy it with your morning coffee or to get you motivated for a day at the office. It's smooth jazz on caffeine! Don't be surprised if it gets you dancing.

Well Here Goes....

2006-11-20T13:37:00.000Z

I thought it was about time to enter the world of blogs. As there's usually a bit of gossip to be had the Sky.fm Smooth Jazz world.

Ironically, some of the latest news and events have already happened, so my first observation in blogdom is that it's a shame that you can't backdate your entries. Ho hum.

So hang in there for a short recap on what's been happening recently...