(Roll theme music, “Grazing in the Grass”)

This is BogeyDog, your correspondent for Dogs on Jazz. I have been asked to supply an occasional article for SmoothViews for a closer to the floor perspective on Smooth Jazz music.

I don’t get to go to concerts. Mom and Dad go to concerts. They recently went to the Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival. I got to stay home with Grandma. I like Grandma. She gives me leftovers when Dad is not looking.


We get lots of CDs to review. Sometimes Dad lets me sniff them. I wag my tale because my opinion is valued here. They are all OK but they smell like plastic.

They ALL smell like plastic!

They DO make Mom happy, though. She plays them louder than Dad does, and the soprano sax hurts my ears, but that is OK. When Mom is happy she gives me more Doggy Treats! I like Doggy Treats a lot. They are good. But I digress.

We got a relatively new CD from Candy Dulfer. Dad was happy because he said it was “Comp,” whatever that is. Now, I do not know Dulfer, but I KNOW candy. I like candy. Dad held it for me to sniff and . . . it SMELLED LIKE PLASTIC! But it made them happy, and I got Doggie Treats, so it is a good CD.

Think jazz music and what animal comes to mind? Cats!

Some cat publicist back there has sold unwitting audiences on the fiction that cats are somehow cool. Now I can see cats being associated with “straight ahead” jazz; arrogant, self-absorbed and aloof. But Smooth Jazz needs a more upbeat image from the animal world.

Let me insert here that I have no prejudices towards cats. My niece is a cat, and I helped raise her. Some of my best friends are cats. There are just a few issues like butt sniffing that are cultural differences; not negative predispositions.

In the interest of objectivity, I would like to offer a poll for your input on an appropriate substitution. What animal best describes the good vibes and uplifting joy so common in Smooth Jazz music:

I will be contacting artists such as The Rippingtons and Gato Barbieri about changing their animal associations to the selection you decide.

May the best beast win.

This is BogeyDog for Dogs on Jazz.

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