Hi, I'm Eric.

Blame Mrs. Witkopf.

My fourth-grade elementary school teacher played Kenny G every single day, I think to calm down a room full of rambunctious kids. I might be the only one who came out of that class loving it.

Meanwhile, my next-door neighbor "Mr. Jim" washed his car nearly every summer weekend with a boombox on an extension cord in the middle of the driveway, playing: Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder. You know the vibe. It got into my soul early and never left.

Fast-forward a few years - okay, decades - and I went to my first smooth jazz concert in my twenties. Boney James. I was hooked.

Why I built this station.

For nearly twenty years as a VP of IT, I worked in noisy offices or was on the road. Smooth jazz was my work companion through all of it. I tried classical music, lo-fi beats, every trick. Nothing kept me focused like a groovy, positive smooth jazz set. I always wished a station like this existed, so I finally built the one I wanted to listen to.

Turns out a lot of you wanted it too.

I'm not a music industry insider. No connections, no secret handshake. Just a real fan who loves this music and wants to give something back to the artists and the genre. That's why every song we play is logged, every artist has a page showing what we've played and where they're touring, and a live host actually says their names out loud every day.

Smooth jazz that hits different.

I like songs with a little extra in them: extra groove, extra rhythm, a little more swagger.

Music that moves your soul without getting in the way of what you're doing. Working, studying, driving, cooking - or doing absolutely nothing at all. I support you however the music finds you.

Where to find me.

Flow Smooth Jazz runs 24/7 right here, on Live365 and TuneIn, and on Amazon Alexa.

Twice every weekday, I go live on Mixcloud, Twitch and Kick. You'll see the DJ chair, the music, and usually me working through my own to-do lists right along with you. Think of me as your best coworking companion - one with good taste, and who also knows when to be quiet.

Miss a show? Mixcloud keeps them afterward. And on socials, I'm @FlowSmoothJazz everywhere.

Smoothies.

That's what I call you all, at least until a better name wins.

Every show I look at the live listener map and see people tuning in from across the U.S., Canada, the UK, Mexico, Greece, Italy and beyond - all listening to the same soundtrack at the same time.

We're in different places, but we're connected. I love that thought. Jazz fans are my people.

Thanks for making Flow Smooth Jazz part of your day.

Catch y'all later — and always remember to keep it smooth out there.

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