The category of active male jazz vocalists features superb talents, some of the best of all time. Kurt Elling, Gregory Porter, Harry Connick Jr. and, of course, Tony Bennett come to mind. But the roster is not very deep. The same cannot be said about female jazz vocalists. Thankfully, we are blessed with icons, standard-bearers and newcomers from all over the world. In fact, when we consider them for the cruises, differentiating and selecting is very difficult. We have often thought of doing a Female Vocalist Only cruise, but, even then, it would be hard to limit the lineup.

The discussion thus far has been limited to the presentation of jazz standards and “straight ahead” tunes. When it comes to “smooth jazz,” the issue blurs even more. First, I am not sure what a “smooth jazz” vocalist is supposed to sound like. If asked, I imagine that most of our “smooth jazz” fans would call out Sade and Norah Jones. Paradoxically, neither of them have accepted offers to sail on The Smooth Jazz Cruise. Both have entertained offers for the Blue Note at Sea cruise. At the end of the day, their respective price points and performance requirements were incompatible with the cruise format and business model, but neither of them considered themselves to be “smooth jazz” vocalists.

The list of vocalists who have sailed on The Smooth Jazz Cruise is long, distinguished and eclectic: Patti Austin, Oleta Adams, Natalie Cole, Jeffrey Osborne, Brian McKnight, Chaka Khan, Ledisi, Lalah Hathaway, Jon Secada, Peabo Bryson, George Benson, Regina Belle, Al Jarreau, Brenda Russell, Jody Watley, Jonathan Butler, Maysa, Larry Braggs, Patrice Rushen and more. Dozens of Grammy Award winners. Singers who have sold millions of records. But I doubt that any of them could be called “smooth jazz” vocalists.

Does it matter? Not really. What does it mean? I believe that this issue, the lack of an identifiable “smooth jazz” vocalist, speaks to the true genius and excitement of the genre. This genre has no boundaries, rules or requirements. What we dub as “smooth jazz” is a wonderful blend of instrumental jazz, R&B, funk and soul. It is most recognizable and identifiable when presented as instrumental music. Adding vocals moves the music into more neatly defined categories. Again, does it really matter what we call it? Of course not.

As a producer of jazz cruise programs, sadly, we have to pay attention to the labels to some degree. After all, we are the ones naming the cruises. If we call a cruise “The Smooth Jazz Cruise,” then it would stand to reason that we should feature “smooth jazz.” Just as The Jazz Cruise is set up to feature “straight ahead” jazz. There isn’t sufficient time or space here to dive into the definitional malaise we faced with The Contemporary Jazz Cruise aka Blue Note at Sea. Probably the most cogent explanation of that cruise is that it is neither The Jazz Cruise nor The Smooth Jazz Cruise. Presumptuously, it is all the jazz not covered by those two programs.

In the end, when trying to understand our programs, there is only one sure way to do so. Check out the lineups. Find the one (or two) that appeals to you the most. Whenever someone says to me that they “love jazz,” I ask them “who do you like to listen to?” It is the only sure way to discern their tastes, as well as learning if they really like or know jazz at all.

Though we have shed some light on the elusive nature of “smooth jazz” vocals, we have not solved the mystery of the paucity of male jazz vocalists. I ask top jazz musicians that question all the time and no one’s response has been helpful or insightful. If you have thoughts as to why, send them to me. Until then, I will show my grandson baseball films of Sparky Lyle and Dave Righetti and play him records of Johnny Hartman, Joe Williams and Nat King Cole. One of those will take.

Our Take is written by Michael Lazaroff, Executive Director of The Jazz Cruise, The Smooth Jazz Cruise and Blue Note at Sea. Feel free to express your views or pose questions to him at michael@ecpcruises.com.

So, we have elected to continue to alert our fans to great music opportunities, such as Jazz for America and Lift Every Voice, without regard to the other aspects of the presentation with the following caveat.