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Is improvisational jazz to impressionism art as smooth jazz is to realism art?

So, I’ll acknowledge up front, I’m an engineer. Civilian and Warfighter lives can be in the balance depending on whether our company products perform as required or not. As a result, I try very hard to drive the entropic world we live in towards black and white as much as possible. I need to put order to chaos. When i look at art, impressionistic art requires a lot of mental work to make sense of. I just don't see it or get it, appreciate it or like it. I also find, as hard as i may try to enjoy improvisational jazz, that i don't get it, appreciate it, or like it. Instead, I love Realism art and instrumental smooth jazz!!
Reading from Audiogon forum pages for a couple of years now, i feel like i should feel inferior because 1. I don’t appreciate the free flow of expression that is improvisational jazz and 2. I love that there is a tune and thread in smooth jazz. I love the guitar artistry of Chuck Loeb, Chris Standring, and Acoustic Alchemy; the trumpet expressions of Rick Braun, Cindy Bradley, and Chris Botti; and the bass works of Brian Bromberg. 
I’m curious if there are many others out there that equate order (or lack there-of) in their music tastes to that of their taste in the visual arts?
Also, are there many other music lovers who would rather enjoy a good smooth jazz listening session than improvisational jazz?  If so, who do you listen to?

mashrafemortaza
grinnell
1,093 posts
 

I would say improv jazz is more equivalent to abstract expressionism of the 40s-50s than 19th cent impressionism so more like Pollack and Klein

 

Smooth jazz is more like ......hard to find a comparison ...........like Hotel Art? commercial not offensive or too far out of the mainstream

larsman's avatar
larsman
1,924 posts
 

Unlike 'smooth jazz', which for me isn't good for much besides background music at a dinner party, realistic art doesn't put me to sleep.... 

tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6
2,587 posts
 

I’m with the OP on art. Give me beauty rather than different. Different isn’t always better.

Smooth jazz, not so much.

Here are some artists I’ve been listening to lately that mainly stay on the contemporary jazz side of the line separating it from smooth jazz but are melodic, accessible and you may like them.

Lisa Hilton - She has put out an album a year for about 20 years so there’s plenty to choose from. I like "Chalkboard Destiny" from 2019 and "Nocturnal" from 2015.

Franco Ambrosetti - "Lost Within You" from this year or "Long Waves" from 2019.

If you like those I can recommend more.

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