Kim Waters defines smooth jazz

(News4usonline) – Saxophonist Kim Waters has been at this jazz thing for a while. His music can best be described as sweet, melodic with a dash of deeply-flexed intimate pulses blended into traditional jazz. 

In other words, Waters has connected with audiences for nearly four decades with an incredibly  niche sound. It is a style that Waters says is “classy, sophisticated, romantic with an edge to it,” he said. 

“Even though it’s smooth jazz, it still has some traditional jazz elements involved if you listen closely to the songs. It’s a happy music style that people kind of gravitate to. I try to create melodies that everybody can hear and relate to and that helps sell the songs.” 

The methods Waters has used to make good music has turned him into one one of those names among contemporary jazz artists that has defined a generation. You don’t just like a Kim Waters song. 

You are immersed into another worldly experience as you listen to grooves such as “Sax Appeal,” “Nightfall,” “In the Groove,” “A Love Like This,” and “For the Love of You.”

According to his discography, Waters has made 28 studio albums. That’s a lot of time perfecting one’s craft. Each one of those albums reflect a mood or tone Waters’ musical direction has taken him to. 

His first credited studio album “All Because of You” was released in 1990. His latest album work, “Time 2 Groove,” was released in 2025. 

During the time that Waters began his career to today, the state of smooth jazz has taken on a remarkable transformation. In the late 1990s, smooth jazz was seen as more of a novelty passion. 

“I think it’s still here. I just feel like it’s a bit of…quite a bit of repetition in a lot of the material that’s being written and because in today’s world, you don’t really have to have a record deal to get your music heard, which I think is greater for the younger generation,” Waters remarked. 

“But at the same time, you know, back in the day when you were getting a record deal, there was a certain level of talent that you had to have in order to get a record deal. But today, let’s face it, you can make a record…it doesn’t take much to do it. But I’m happy to see that the young guys are still wanting to play the music. So, I think it’ll be here a long time,” Waters went on to say. 

Throughout his remarkable career, Waters has met and collaborated with the best of the best in the music arena. His list of key influences is basically a “who’s who” in the music world and is well diverse. This would include traditional jazz greats Sonny Stitt, Cannonball Adderley, Charlie Parker, and Grover Washington Jr. 

But of course, working with musical giants like Al Green, Patti LaBelle, Quincy Jones, David Sanborn, and George Duke and so many others have also impacted the music Waters has produced over the years. 

“My roots are really grounded in traditional jazz, so I’m a huge, huge Sonny Stitt fan, and a huge Cannonball Adderley fan,” Waters said. “Of course, Charlie Parker, but I feel like Sonny Stitt and Cannonball took Charlie Parker’s riffs and made them even cleaner and perfected them. Love Dexter Gordon. Love Johnny Griffin, so many, and the list  goes on. Sonny Rollins.Had a chance to meet a lot of the greats as well. Of course, as far as contemporary, I listen to a lot of Grover, and of course, David Sanborn. I think I came in an era that everyone else was coming in.”     

This is the first installment of a three-part series feature on smooth jazz great Kim Waters