He played the type of music that really resonated with his audience. It was feel-good music. It was people’s music.” ...

La Jolla native Michael Franks’ music career predates the rise of both hip-hop and smooth jazz. But he has long been embraced by both worlds, much to the surprise of the veteran singer and writer of ...

Whenever I’m asked to provide a “fun fact” about myself, I usually say that I worked as a smooth-jazz radio announcer back in college. It wasn’t the kind of unsuitable, faintly ironic part-time job ...