VA - No. 1 Smooth Jazz Radio Hits! (2004)

No. 1 Smooth Jazz Radio Hits is a ten-song collection of mellow and thoroughly modern jazz sounds featuring some of the big-name artists recording for Shanachie and Narada Jazz. Most of the tracks, like Chieli Minucci's "My Girl Sunday," Chuck Loeb's "Sarao," and Kim Waters' "Waterfall," get bogged down in overly programmed rhythms and bland, cliched dance music atmospherics and are nothing but the kind of background music you are likely to hear while on hold with the power company. A couple of the tracks manage to escape the gloom by delving deeply into the funky end of smooth jazz: the Urban Knights' bubbling cover of R&B staple "Hi-Heel Sneakers" and Nestor Torres' grooving take on Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man" are fun and almost exciting. Strip away the synths and they might even pass for jazz. -- Tim Sendra