Jazz seems to be undergoing a revival among movie directors, evident in documentaries like “Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool,” biopics such as “Born to Be Blue,” and recent Oscar winners like “Whiplash.” While jazz-centric films are prevalent, data indicates that fewer people are actually listening to jazz, aligning its popularity more closely with classical music than contemporary pop artists. There are various reasons for jazz’s decline in mainstream popularity, but as a music historian, I am particularly interested in how academia has influenced this trend. In our effort to elevate jazz to a scholarly status, we may have inadvertently diminished its appeal as a popular genre.
However, all is not bleak. Although jazz might seem confined to academic circles, it continues to influence popular music in subtle ways. In the 1920s, during the Great Migration, many Black Americans relocated from the South to northern industrial cities, carrying their jazz sounds with them. These musicians settled in vibrant neighborhoods like The Stroll in Chicago, Black Bottom in Detroit, and Harlem, just as the record industry and radio became prevalent in American homes. This timing set jazz up to become the most popular music genre in the country.
Over the next decade, jazz evolved as artists started to form larger ensembles, blending jazz’s energy with the volume of dance bands, thus birthing the Swing Era, where jazz orchestras ruled the pop charts. This shift introduced new challenges, with larger bands limiting individual improvisation—a fundamental element of jazz. By the 1940s, recorded music became increasingly significant, and jazz musicians, frustrated with inadequate compensation, staged a series of strikes through the American Federation of Musicians. By the time these disputes were settled, America’s youth had shifted their attention to new genres like R&B and country, which eventually evolved into rock ‘n’ roll. Jazz never fully regained its former widespread popularity.
Another significant change during this period was jazz’s transition from clubs to college campuses. Post-World War II, jazz became more complex and splintered into subgenres, with its popularity growing among college students. Albums like Dave Brubeck Quartet’s “Jazz at Oberlin” celebrated this trend. Universities began to see jazz as a high art form worthy of academic study, leading to the creation of jazz curriculums. By the late 1950s, institutions such as the University of North Texas and Berklee College of Music had established jazz programs. In classrooms, jazz was analyzed in ways previously reserved for classical music. Musicologist Marshall Stearns’ book “The Story of Jazz” captures this change, detailing jazz’s complexity over 300 pages despite initially stating its elusive spirit.
Popular culture mirrored this shift, depicting jazz as the music of the educated. In the 1953 film “The Wild One,” a big band soundtrack accompanies a rebellious motorcycle gang led by Marlon Brando. By contrast, the 1955 film “Blackboard Jungle” features delinquent students who reject jazz in favor of rock ‘n’ roll, highlighting jazz’s newfound association with the cultured elite.
During the 1960s, jazz was at its most eclectic, but scholars like Neil Leonard pushed for it to be taken seriously as an academic subject, as outlined in his book “Jazz and the White Americans.” Organizations dedicated to jazz education formed, such as the National Association for Jazz Education. By the 1970s and 1980s, introductory jazz courses had proliferated, giving rise to what critic Nate Chinen called the “jazz-education industry.” Playing jazz now often required a college degree, solidifying its status as the music of the educated elite, exemplified by characters like Cliff and Clair Huxtable from “The Cosby Show.”
In the past two decades, jazz’s status as an academic art form has solidified further. At many institutions, jazz dominates non-classical music course offerings. College students today study jazz in morning classrooms, trying to grasp its complexities—although jazz was historically meant to be experienced in late-night clubs. Jazz has become akin to brussels sprouts for up-and-coming music lovers: known to be beneficial, but not always immediately appealing.
Outside academia, the shrinking audience for traditional jazz venues has led to efforts to rebrand jazz as “America’s classical music,” as seen with clubs like Minton’s Playhouse. This year’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival features artists like Katy Perry and The Rolling Stones, underscoring how far the festival has strayed from its jazz origins.
Despite this, jazz’s legacy persists in modern music. Albums like Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly,” created in collaboration with saxophonist Kamasi Washington, blend jazz and rap seamlessly. Washington also debuted a short film at Sundance, inspired by his album “Heaven and Earth.” Lamar’s influence even inspired David Bowie to use a jazz backing band for his final album “Blackstar.” Groups like Snarky Puppy avoid specific labels while making long-form jazz works, and Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox rejuvenates jazz by transforming contemporary pop songs into vintage jazz styles.
Although jazz’s future as a mainstream genre remains uncertain, current artists demonstrate that its spirit is alive and well, proving that jazz encompasses much more than its name suggests.