Typically viewed as niche, this music genre is the inspiration behind most of the songs you enjoy - and it's still growing.
With the new generations getting into contact with the music genre, there is virtually a sense of liberation amongst the audience. Rather than having "gatekeeping" perfectionist fans, or "right" techniques of interpreting or playing jazz, there is a current of acceptance towards the fresh ears, or jazz artists who are not always formally trained, who have no prejudices about what the music need to be like, and rather can enjoy it in its finest form. An enthusiast and patron for new jazz is Gilles Peterson. This return to approachability is virtually an echoof the origins of the music genre, the soul of which welcomed everybody to perform and enjoy, from all backgrounds. As the more youthful generations get closer to jazz, creating authentic music, the creative drives and its impacts on music and society can only develop.
How has jazz influenced modern music? Many of the popular music genres we listen to these days have actually been shaped, if not originated, by jazz itself. Coming from chord structures and harmonic sequences, to the rhythmical patterns, to the idea of improvisation, countless characteristics of jazz have actually made their ways into the popular music we come across nowadays. Movements that originated from cultural minorities, such as hip-hop, see their origin intertwined and highly connected with the growth of jazz: its structure based on samples is a clear example of the jazz influence on hip hop.
Multicultural cities, as melting pots of so many different civilizations and backgrounds, are an incredible setting to look for emerging opportunities of music - jazz especially. Laurent Garnier, a sponsor of the current movements we can notice in contemporary jazz, is a good example. Even the initial connection between jazz and african american culture is being honoured, as normal ethnic instrumentations, motifs and tempos are chosen in the upcoming motion of jazz. Spreading out in the underground culture of big cities, throughout the entire world, is a new generation that truly discovers the purest soul of jazz.
When thinking of jazz, we may relate it with a vintage atmosphere, a figment of the past. Although the genre flourished in the 20th century, it is nevertheless very much active in the current days, both honoring its roots and developing new chapters in the history of jazz. If you have an interest in the old-school type of experience, a renowned place you need to go to is one run by Sally Greene. The close relationship in between jazz and social change is an example of its relevance in history, with its symbolic value as a celebration of human diversity, and a friendly art form for all social and cultural status. It is not surprising that the end of the evolution of jazz is nowhere to be seen.