John Beaudin - President and Head Writer of Smooth Jazz Now.com - (On air (with Shannon Edwards) Weekdays 6AM-3PM)
 John Beaudin wanted to get in radio in grade six. After late great Miramichi broadcaster Rod Butcher visited his grade six elementary class in 1972 he was determined. Luckily, Butcher spent some time with John on that December day explaining how the radio world worked. It was also around the time that Beaudin started buying music. "Classic Rock" is really my favorite music," say Beaudin, “Even today that's mostly what I listen to but my love for Jazz and early New Age started back then as well."
He's talking about artists like Jean-Michel Jarre and Vangelis that pioneered New Age to George Benson, Jeff Lorber, and Bob James in Contemporary Jazz and Smooth Jazz. Then came Elton John. "My best friend in the world, Jeff Graham, introduced me to Elton's music in the early seventies and that really had a profound effect on me," He says,” I couldn't get enough of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. In fact, 'Madman Across the Water' is still my all time favorite album." He says you can add James Taylor April Wine, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and especially Genesis and Toto to his all time favorites.
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.jpg) Knowing that he needed a broadcasting degree to move further, he headed off to Alberta in August of 1979 where he then received that degree in broadcasting from CHIT in Edmonton. John then became the first student in their history to be hired full time by a major market station at 96 K-Lite in Edmonton.
Filled with a voracious appetite for learning John honed his broadcast skills and refined his sound during years there. It was at K-Lite where John spawned an idea for a music direction in which he had been tinkering with since his high school years. The format was a hybrid of Smooth Jazz and New Age. John took his idea to CKXM in 1986 and offered an entire package. 'Night-Lite' was an immediate hit with the much sought after 35-54 market and launched John into the forefront of this new music format. Handling 42 hours of on-air programming and the job of Music Director, John quickly became a worldwide leader in promoting this rapidly growing genre. Interviewing leading artists and executives, combined with John's understanding made him an expert in this genre. His ultra-smooth voice and highly personalized style became a hit with both artists and fans alike. After five years of growth and experimentation John decided that it was time for a new larger market for his audience.
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John's next move was that of a consultant for the CHUM Group of Companies. The broadcasting firm had heard of John's success with the format in Edmonton and hired him in 1990 to consult on a CRTC license for Smooth Jazz which they were working on for the Vancouver market. CHUM knew that John's unique talent and genre understanding were integral to their total understanding of this exciting genre.
CHUM ultimately decided to purchase a station instead of starting one. Their next choice was to hire him to anchor the evening show in this large radio market. John resurrected Night-Lite in the Vancouver market and it was a hit on-air from 1991 to 2001. In fact John holds the title of having the highest market share of over 10 in the history of the format in Canada.
When the website Smooth Jazz Canada changed its name to Smooth Jazz Now.com in 2004 Beaudin says fans of his old show were not surprised by the name change. "Smooth Jazz Now was actually a short radio feature much like an entertainment feature that we did once an hour and it ran from 1991 until 2001 in Vancouver. So, when we re-branded the name of the site to Smooth Jazz Now it wasn't a surprise to any of the listeners from Vancouver, they knew me as the Smooth Jazz Now guy anyway. John currently hosts the highly rated 'Lovesongs' at CHUM's QM-FM in Vancouver.
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CHUM also utilized his industry leading understanding in another application in the fall of 2001. John appeared on CHUM's panel, testifying at the CRTC hearings as a consultant for their application.
In 2002, John moved to Calgary while continuing his show in Vancouver to host the  Afternoon Drive show at the new Smooth Jazz station, “The Breeze” (later to be called California 103.) In 2005 he was offered the Program Directors job until the station eventually flipped in March 2008 when he and station owner NewCap parted ways. Beaudin says, “Overall it was a great experience, I did all the major shifts on the station including mornings for the 10 months and though I always knew realistically that with a special very restricted license and no budget it would be tough but we made money and I think we did a great job.”
John was also asked by NewCap Broadcasting in 2007 to serve as acting Program Director for their application for a Triple A station for Calgary. The license was eventually approved. John has been a writer in the Rock, Pop, Smooth Jazz and New Age genre's writing for Common Ground and Shared Vision magazines in Vancouver and Mosaic Magazine in Edmonton writing reviews and featured articles. John himself has been the subject of a number of featured articles in major newspapers and magazines across the continent.
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From 1985 to 1989 John was the host and producer of the can-con/foreground syndicated radio show 'The Cross Canada Report' which was heard on 36 markets. He was president of The Air-Com Radio Network in the 80’s which also syndicated “The Rock History Book” and “In the News.” In fact ,John runs www.rockhistorybook.com named after the radio show. Rock History Book was syndicated across Canada from 1987-1989. Originally hosted by Broadcast Journalist Steve Burgess, John took the show over after its first year. Beaudin has also served as a judge for the Juno Awards several times. “Being a huge Can-con fan from the seventies it’s always an honour to be a judge,” say Beaudin.His next big project was co-creator and co-chair of the Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards ® with The Wave in Hamilton. They present a huge ceremony each year at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts.
So what’s next? “I’d love to host a talk show,” says Beaudin. I’ve hosted a few call in shows and loved the immediacy of the whole thing. I’d also like to go back to Classic Rock but when the dust settles for me it’s about having an excitement for a project, and that isn’t exclusive to any particular format. I like being on the air. That’s who I am. I’m still lovin’ hosting ‘Lovesongs at QM-FM in Vancouver. It’s a No. 1 show with woman consistently and men are not far behind. I take great pride in hosting that program.”
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John spends his personal time with his beautiful partner Shannon and their delightful daughter Danica and son Chase. John also has two lovely grown children, Marc and Candice from a previous marriage. He lists his hobbies as reading books on spirituality and psychology, listening to his thousands of CD's and albums and becoming a better drummer. - by Anthony Smith & Wyatt Cavanaugh As of July 2008 John is available for on-air voice tracking – for any format. |
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May 17, 2013 - After only four weeks Andy Snitzer is sitting pretty at the top spot of the Smooth Jazz Now Top 50 Countdown. "Andy's done well," says John Beaudin Operations Manager at the AirCom Jazz Network, "he dethroned Boney James from the #1 spot," adds Beaudin. 
May 3, 2013 - Things keep looking better for Boney James. The popular sax-man has the biggest hit of the year so far on Smooth Jazz Now with 'Batucada.' It's now been #1 for five weeks. "It's always special when a song stands out that much," says John Beaudin Program Director of Smooth Jazz Now. 
April 30, 2013 – Good Morning America has announced a huge line up for its 5th Annual Summer Concert Series. 
April 25, 2013 – Three gifted smooth Jazz musicians; Rick Braun, Kirk Whalum and Norman Brown came together 11 years ago with their group BWB. These guys put their name on the map with the famous album Groovin’ and are back in full swing with an upcoming release ‘Human Nature’ set for release June 18th. 
April 19, 2013 - Boney James is again the most talked about artist on Smooth Jazz Now. His hit 'Batucada' was the most requested tune on our station for the last two weeks. "You have to love a song with this type of staying power," says John Beaudin, Program Director of Smooth Jazz Now. 
April 10, 2013 – The hottest new song on the Smooth Jazz Now TOP 50 chart last week was Andy Snitzer's 'Candy' entering at an impressive #5. The tune comes from, 'The Rhythm,' Snitzer's 3rd Native Language album and his 8th overall. The label calls the single “sweet funk/pop” which it is indeed. “I just love this song,” says John Beaudin Program Director of Smooth Jazz Now. 
March 27, 2013 – They say “everything is perception” and from the start our image of Rob Tardik has been hard working and positive. With the release of his fourth album LIMITLESS, later this year, we thought we would catch up with Tardik and ask about the sound of the new project. 
March 27, 2013 - With the release of Jim Samuel's new album 'Smooth Covers, Smooth Dance' last week and our 90-minute radio special on his career we thought we would delve a little deeper into what makes Samuel tick. 
March 26, 2013 - Boney James had the most requested tune on Smooth Jazz Now for the second week in a row. His new single 'Batucada' has only been on the chart four weeks and two of those have been at #1. "Anytime we get a Boney single we know our audience will get it to #1," says John Beaudin, Program Director of Smooth Jazz Now. 
March 26, 2013 - Mike MacArthur has an impressive resume. Playing with Diane Schuur and the late great Maynard Ferguson creates great cache for an artist.
March 22, 2012 – Dave Koz will be joined by several of his old pals as he kicks off A Summer Horns Tour 2013.
March 13, 2013 - Boney James doesn't fool around! The famous sax-man has reached the #1 spot on the Smooth Jazz Now Top 50 Countdown and it only took him three weeks. "Ok, really - this is Freakin' Boney James," says John Beaudin, Program Director of Smooth Jazz Now. "Boney is not just known as a superstar, he proves it with every song and every album." 
March 9, 2013 – Natalie Cole has found her muse again! The 'Unforgettable' singer told fans on Twitter that she's coming back. The nine time Grammy winner should have a new album out this year. 
March 5, 2013 - Canadian singer, Michael Buble is getting ready for his upcoming album “To Be Loved’ hitting stores April 23rd. 
March 2, 2013 – I think the reputation of a music reviewer is that of a bitter and jaded curmudgeon living in a van down by the river. Years ago after writing a blistering review of a project that sounded half finished the artist approached me at a club and screamed, “You must spend a lot of time looking for things to hate?” “Actually it's the opposite, I answered, “I use my hours looking for the good stuff, 3/4 of the trip, however, is filled cliched blah!” 
March 1, 2013 - For the second week in a row Euge Groove had the most requested song on SmoothJazzNow. As a result his 'House of Groove' easily made it to #1 on the TOP 50 chart. "Euge is like Boney James, Dave Koz or Peter White," says John Beaudin, Program Director of SmoothJazzNow, "They all consistently release music that sticks with listeners." 
December 13, 2012 – SmoothJazzNow has a new artist/interview feature called One-On-One. It’s 20 questions for your favorite Smooth Jazz artists. Most acts will be asked the same questions but we will also change it up on some weeks. 
December 13, 2012 – Greg Adams has been out there. Even though many fans know him from his days with Tower of Power that stint seemed to be just an opening act for what was to come. 
December 11, 2012 - It's been a great year for Pete Giltin. The guitarist reached #1 on the SmoothJazzNow.com chart and there's no sign of him slowing down. We asked Pete to give us some rare facts - things you might not know about him. Check out the list. 
November 18, 2012 - Christmas music is a unique animal. A challenging one. Imagine explaining the concept to an alien, "So we celebrate this holiday and musicians, at least once in their careers, get to record the same 30-40 songs and hope that their versions sticks," MORE
May 1, 2012 - We live in a world where most instrumental music sounds like it was made for a 5x5 vertically moving room and that includes some Smooth Jazz. Interestingly, most Smooth Jazz musicians are technically some of the best players on the planet but many have fallen into this big vacuous hole, an amnesic state, where channelling Bert Kaempfert is common place. 
April 4, 2012 – Esperanza Spalding is a groovy chick. I mean, really, when she’s in the room, everyone else disappears and I’m talkin’ more than that big “love-sculpture” hair. She’s the type of musician you might walk up to at a party, ask about her music, and walk away three hours later regretting the question. This lady has a vision so you better have a seat. 
October 20, 2011 – This is no ordinary album. In fact, there is nothing normal about this album and that’s what makes this one of the most perfect projects that’s ever come across my desk. 
– On her third album Colbie Caillat has decided to strategically give us an uptempo summer-vibe. It still sounds like her smash debut “Coco” but this time it’s Colbie with caffeine and it’s positive and fun
– There are not too many things in life as deliciously lazy as Michael Franks voice. The guy could chill out someone on deaths door. Seriously, angst has no place on a Michael Franks record – he’s good at one great thing..making you feel good! 
