BBC Radio 3 allocates a relatively small proportion of its weekly inventory to jazz, but there has been no commercial alternative prior to this launch.
GCap has now launched theJazz as a national station, with a transmission footprint that the GMG-owned Jazz FM, now rebranded as Smooth and no longer playing jazz, never had.
The sound of the station is great as it focuses on "pure jazz". Major names have been drawn in to give it an appealing mix of presenters, along with weekly shows by famous British jazz musicians, such as Jamie Cullum - an excellent initiative to get artists on air as presenters.
The playlist has an excellent mix that will appeal to the broader audience, which has got to be a key objective.
It embraces the heritage of jazz, with legendary artists such as Miles Davis, along with modern-day artists such as Courtney Pine. It may not appeal to the real hardcore jazz fan, but the mix of music it is focusing on appears to strike the right mix of heritage versus modern day, offering something for everyone.
GCap wants to provide a "proper jazz station" that also opens up jazz to a broader audience, so the approach here seems logical.
It was when Classic FM focused on demonstrating to people that they subconsciously listened to (and liked) plenty of classical music that people started thinking differently about the category as a whole.
There is a similar opportunity to be addressed for jazz.
GCap will also be incorporating Capital's "two-in-a-row" advertising policy; a seemingly logical move when considering the environment and likely audience it will attract.
We will get an indication of theJazz's performance when Rajar results are released in August this year.
Based on the evidence, the seemingly conservative target of 140,000 listeners should be achievable.
Review by Simon Blackburn, account director and head of radio, MPG