This week, London's streets and clubs will be abuzz with the sounds of the saxophone, double bass and piano as the capital’s annual jazz festival gets underway.
But among the well-heeled attendees, don’t be surprised to see several younger faces in the crowd too. It might be the internet’s worst-kept secret, but jazz is back in amongst Generation Z. Big time.
How big is it? Think Olivia Dean, whose soulful, jazz-influenced ballads have seen her garner a massive fanbase over the past two years – big enough to play Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage this year. Or Ezra Collective, who won the 2023 Mercury Prize, becoming the first jazz act to do so.
And that’s only scraping the surface. There’s corto.alto, who was nominated for a Mercury Prize this year (but ultimately lost out to Leeds band English Teacher); there’s berlioz, whose jazz-infused dance music (or should that be dance-infused jazz?) has made him a rising star.
There’s also Icelandic artist Laufey, who has been touted as Gen Z’s “jazz icon” for her contemporary spin on the genre. Her contemporary lyrics about heartbreak, fused with a more retro sound, has made her a TikTok sensation.
And TikTok is important in the story of this resurgence, because it’s online that jazz artists are reaching larger crowds than ever before. In the last few years, jazz has taken off on TikTok – between 2023 and 2024, views of #jazz videos increased by almost 90 per cent, and the #jazztok hashtag has exploded in popularity. The trend has even spread to Spotify. In 2023, the streaming platform told the Guardian that 40 per cent of its jazz music was being streamed by people under 30.
Why has it become such a roaring success? Perhaps it’s jazz’s versatility, which takes inspiration from far-flung places – and genres.
“Jazz finds its home in the jam session – it’s rooted in a collaborative, mix and match outlook,” Ezra Collective’s Femi Koleoso told the NME last year. “You don’t quite get the same thing in, say, rock music. It’s unlikely you’d find Alex Turner jamming week and week out in some club, which is a shame, but it’s always been common practice in jazz circles.
“My favourite jazz drummer is Max Roach. He played with everyone, and his name is on every record. That’s what we’re trying to be like, because having exposure to all types of music is how great music is made.”
That ability to adapt and evolve has stood it in good stead when it comes to appealing to present-day audiences, giving jazz a versatility that younger artists are starting to tap into now, fusing modern sensibilities and tastes with a decidedly retro sound.
"I'm making music for Gen Z. I speak and act very much in that way," Laufey told Vogue. "A lot of jazz standards have very casual language of that day, and I write with the casual language of my day."
“This old, cinematic, jazzy sound or the timeless, classical sound is something that feels like escapism, you know? We were all looking for an escape,” Laufey added to Today. “Gen Z has a palate for this kind of music — and so many people don’t even know it."
It’s no secret that Gen Z are obsessed with all things nostalgic. You only have to look at the fashion scene’s current Y2K 90’s revival to see it – or examine the popularity of analogue phones, cassettes and vinyl. And in the turbulent times we currently live in, harking back to an age where everything felt simpler is an attractive prospect.
But jazz also has long been connected to youth and rebellion. “Jazz has never not been a young person thing,” New Orleans Jazz Museum music curator David Kunian told Axios.
In the 1920s, when jazz was first born, it was firmly cemented in youth culture. Alongside speakeasies, short haircuts and short dresses, jazz was a rebellion against the musical traditions of the past. Out went waltzes and Mozart; in its place came daring new dances like the Charleston, and musicians like Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong.
A century later, that rebellious spirit has gone nowhere. “I’m no expert, but jazz to me, and I’m not the first to say it, is an attitude," berlioz told Wonderland Magazine this year.
Is it any surprise that it is still delighting people of all ages? With jazz going from strength to strength, it’s only just getting started.
London Jazz Festival runs from November 15-24; efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk
