You can add a couple of o's to smooooth jazz when trumpeter Rick Braun joins forces with saxophonist Euge Groove.
These longtime pals will deliver their spin on the unavoidable, much-maligned genre at Saturday night's concert to benefit the Tucson Jazz Society.
Instead of thinking outside the box, they aim to expand it from within.
Braun, who also plays some flugelhorn, has a melodic, laid-back style that's been compared to Miles Davis and Chet Baker. His collaborations include "Notorious" with Boney James, a contemporary jazz hit, and the mega-selling "R 'n' R," a CD recorded with Richard Elliot in 2007.
Groove, 47, has a more sensual, funky style that easily embraces R&B, gospel and blues. His breakout single was "Romeo & Juliet," followed by such hits as "Vinyl," "Slam Dunk," "Sneak a Peek," "Rewind" and "XXL."
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"We've been buddies for a couple of decades," says Braun of Groove. "He's always had that baby face."
But he hasn't always had that name. He was born Steven Eugene Grove.
"Euge was my nickname," the master of chillaxin said in a recent phone interview.
Grove became Groove because European fans said it that way, but also because that's the name he slapped on a bunch of songs he wrote and recorded at home more than a decade ago.
In 1999, before MySpace or Facebook were born, the Maryland native posted his songs on a new website called www.mp3.com
One of them, "Romeo & Juliet," became one of the Internet's first hits.
"I think I had to record everything on a CD and mail it to them, then they put it on the Internet," he recalls.
"Romeo & Juliet" got 50 downloads the first day, and soon it was up to 200 a day, then 2,000.
"That song just resonated with people. I don't have any idea why," says Groove. "I would check the numbers every day and they just kept growing."
After "Romeo & Juliet" by Euge Groove cruised past 200,000 downloads (a huge number for the time), he knew he couldn't go back to being Steve Grove.
"Now I just have fun with the name," he says.
The 55-year-old Braun, who hails from Allentown, Pa., has had his share of contemporary jazz hits, too, writing and recording such songs as "Cadillac Slim," "Hollywood and Vine" and "Kisses in the Rain."
"I have no idea what will become popular," he says. "I just write what I feel. I'm just being honest."
At Saturday's fundraiser, Braun and Groove will be backed up by Tucson standouts Larry Redhouse (keyboards), Mark Usvolk (electric bass) and Lenny Redhouse (drums).
The concert will open with Amilcar Guevara and Los Esquineros, a quartet plus guests on violin and vocals, playing what Guevara calls "Latin-funk-fusion jazz" that will include some original songs.
If you go
• What: Rick Braun and Euge Groove headline the Tucson Jazz Society's Second Annual Celebrity Jazz Benefit.
• When: 7 p.m. Saturday.
• Where: J.W. Marriott Starr Pass Resort and Spa, 3800 W. Starr Pass Blvd.
• Tickets: $25, with discounts for students, military and TJS members, online at www.tucsonjazz.org
Chuck Graham has written about the Tucson arts scene for 35 years. To read more of his arts coverage, go online to Let The Show Begin at www.tucsonstage.com
