When Josh Turner’s son Hampton was little, he would wake up and turn on the television — not to watch cartoons, but to listen to the smooth jazz channels.

“I dropped him on his head when he was young,” Turner jokes during a recent interview with Taste of Country Nights.

But seriously, Turner’s son does show some signs that he just might follow in his father’s musical footsteps someday soon. Just about two years ago, the jazz lover served as a co-writer on the song “The River (of Happiness)," which was featured on Turner's gospel album I Serve a Savior.

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Turner says when asked if his son might someday pursue a career in music. “He likes jazz and can actually play a lot of it, which is impressive.”

Granted, jazz music hasn’t always been one of Turner’s favorites, but he listens to it every once in a while.

“(Jazz music) is something I have always appreciated but never totally got into," he admits. "If I’m on a plane somewhere, and I'm just wanting to kind of create a mood or needing to listen to something real quietly while I'm reading a book or whatever, I will put on Miles Davis or whatever, but that's about the extent of it. But (Hampton) is crazy about it. He loves Wes Montgomery and George Benson and all these guys like John Coltrane.”

Nevertheless, it's safe to say that there is not much jazz on Turner’s new album, Country State of Mind, which he released on Friday (Aug. 21.) Instead, the 12-song collection is strictly country-centric, paying homage to some of Turner's biggest heroes including Randy TravisJohn AndersonJohnny Cash, Vern Gosdin and Hank Williams.

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