‘Smooth World’ filmmaker was surprised that smooth jazz is cruising along

As music genres go, smooth jazz doesn’t get a lot of love. Even Mickey Duzyj, whose documentary on the music, “Smooth World,” will be given three Atlanta screenings starting this week, admits he wasn’t always a fan of the genre.

The filmmaker grew up in the suburbs of Detroit with smooth jazz as a background staple on his parents’ radio dial. He didn’t develop an interest in the genre himself until much later, long after he’d thought it completely had waned. A chance encounter brought its ongoing popularity to his attention.

“In 2014, I was in a wedding in Reading, Pennsylvania, which, unbeknownst to us guests, had ended up being a dry reception,” Duzyj says. Yearning for a good stiff drink, he and some fellow attendees migrated to the nearby Crowne Plaza hotel. “It just so happened to be hosting something called the Berks Jazz Fest, which is one of the big smooth jazz festivals going in the country.”

As such, Duzyj and company found themselves surrounded by hundreds of dapper older adults lost in a sea of smooth sounds from the various ballrooms. “We had no idea that smooth jazz was still a thing,” Duzyj says. As he chatted with the attendees, he was surprised to learn that following the demise of smooth jazz radio, the format endured as an underground music scene for older adults.

Smooth jazz fans gather at an outdoor festival in "Smooth World," which officially premieres in October at the Newport Beach Film Festival. (Courtesy of Grand Reveal)

“Smooth World,” which officially premieres in October at the Newport Beach Film Festival, is getting three sneak preview showings in Atlanta. It will be screened on Thursday at Emory University’s White Hall, accompanied by a conversation between Duzyj and Emory Associate Professor of Film and Media Gregory Zinman. Then, the documentary will be shown at Off the Wall @ 725 Ponce, where Zinman serves as curator, on Friday as well as on Sept. 19.

“I love Mickey’s work,” Zinman says about the creator-director whose credits include the Netflix sports documentary series “Losers” and an animator and illustrator with a long list of credits. “I’m lucky enough to have this really amazing platform in Atlanta to showcase work that you’re not necessarily going to see in other places.”

A documentary on smooth jazz might qualify as unexpected in most places. But here it comes to our hip-hop-loving city, featuring leading luminaries of the genre including Kirk Whalum, Norman Brown and Cory Wong, with saxophonist Dave Koz serving as the film’s narrative focal point.

“His career blossomed in the wake of Kenny G’s success,” says Duzyj, a resident of New York’s Hudson Valley. “He was the successor to Kenny G, but he’s become a massive promoter. He has multiple tours and, critically, he hosts a yearly international cruise where thousands of devoted smooth jazz fans congregate to enjoy this music that for them is their fountain of youth.”

With that emphasis on the senior audience, the film examines whether the genre has the potential to survive with future generations. To that end, it tracks Koz’s collaboration with guitarist Wong and the burgeoning interest in the genre among younger listeners.

Smooth jazz saxophonist Vincent Ingala is one of the artists included in "Smooth World." (Courtesy of Grand Reveal)

It brings to mind director Penny Lane’s 2021 documentary “Listening to Kenny G,” which charts the life and career of the titular smooth jazz progenitor. That film deals heavily with G’s contentious relationship with the so-called “jazz police,” the aficionados who disdain music within the genre made for people who aren’t its learned devotees. With this emphasis on the future of smooth jazz, it begs the question of how “Smooth World” addresses the divide between mainstream fandom and the inner circle of “serious” jazz listeners.

For Duzyj, the answer was to decenter that endless debate about artistic merit and focus on the scene’s social aspect. “There remains this devoted following of fans who, for them, this is joy, this is community, this is identity. I felt like if I created that as the focal point for this film and whether that community could find a way to endure in what is a challenging world, that would be an interesting way to make a music doc.”

Duzyj is quick to clarify, however, that the film’s close following of Dave Koz does delve into his “career-long identity crisis.” In addition to navigating the shifting tides of the music industry, Koz was wrestling with being a closeted gay man despite being widely regarded as a sex symbol.

As Duzyj goes on to explain, Koz’s internal turmoil was compounded by low regard from the same jazz police that had long antagonized Kenny G. “So not only was he dismissed, but anyone who liked his music was dismissed,” Duzyj says. “So he had a real issue with the word ‘smooth.’”

That personal journey culminates in Koz’s collaboration with Wong, who, by contrast, fully embraces being called “smooth,” a hopeful beacon that future genre practitioners won’t be burdened by the association.

Emory film scholar Zinman points out that the film is noteworthy for its sincere treatment of the source material and its fandom. “I think it would be really easy to have an ironic distance or a kind of winking approach,” he says. “But one thing that comes through when you see the film and you listen to the music is that there’s an undeniable impact on both the artists and the people who hear the music. You see how important this music is to people’s healing emotionally — to their spirituality, to their sense of self and their identity.”