Its all about finding the right note at the right place and knowing when to leave well enough alone. And that's a lifelong quest.
When you have an acoustic bass in the ensemble it really changes the dynamic of the record because it kind of forces everybody to play with a greater degree of sensitivity and nuance because it just has a different kind of tone and spectrum than the electric bass.
Instrumental music is increasingly marginalized and there's just no outlet, there's no venue for it, in terms of media.
Well, I guess my unease with that is... I'm always a little uneasy with that phrase - smooth jazz, as opposed to what?