A genre most associated with smoking cigars, iced whisky glasses and underground bars, is having an unexpected resurgence.
Revisiting 20th century culture has become an inherently 21st century thing to do, note the resurgence in 70s flares and 80s mullets. Retro is in, and now it’s time for Jazz to have a go.
I remember sitting in the car, hearing Jazz FM play away on the radio. I would always tell my dad to change the channel, insisting that Jazz was both boring and tiring to listen to.
My Dad was never insulted by my remarks; he laughed at my disgust and told me that it takes time to understand it. Years later, I have found myself listening to Jazz with every opportunity I get, whether it’s walking to lectures or while working out.
The reason for the sudden spike in interest in the genre is more ambiguous than simply, ‘people just started liking it.’
Jazz is a complex and vibrant sound which needs ideal conditions for a successful revival.
It was in the City of New Orleans where Jazz was born. Thanks to the city’s unique cultural melting pot, African traditions and Europeans harmonies found common ground, making an unusual but exciting new sound.
Jazz spread like wildfire, moving all the way to cities like Chicago, New York and then across the pond to London, Paris and the rest of Europe.
The Jazz age lasted from the 1920s to the mid 1940s, embedding itself in everyday culture: dancing, singing, fashion, bars – everything was Jazz!
The resurgent Jazz of the 2020s is not that of the 1920s, but a whole new sound: new, exciting and authentically 21st century.
South London has, to some extent, replaced New Orleans. It’s often described as having its own melting pot of cultures, being home to vibrant arrays of music styles and tastes. Jazz, with its adaptive nature, has begun to blend and meld with other genres, like R&B and hip hop, adding a new jazzy spin to create a much more musically diverse and rich sound.
My first taste of the new scene was the song: Abusey Junction, by KOKOROKO. A song which combines afro beat rhythm with guitar subtlety, creating what I’d regard as a very Jazzy sound.
I found KOKOROKO were only one piece of corn on a very tasty cob. My Apple Music naturally found me similar bands like: Ezra Collective, Yussef Dayes, and Alfa Mist.
Each artist seems to be on the same page but with a different type of understanding and set of influences – incorporating rich new sounds into their material and widening the horizons of a brand-new landscape.
Like New Orleans before it, the London Jazz scene has begun to migrate beyond the waters of the United Kingdom. Ezra collective’s 2026 tour is going from Europe and all the way to Asia.
The new jazz age has also begun to gain televised and award-based recognition. Ezra Collective were named Mercury Prize winners in 2023, and the Grammys recently announced a new category for the Best Alternative Jazz Album in 2024.
Jazz is once again part of mainstream radio programming too, with Femi Koleoso (Ezra Collective) recently joining 6 Music’s jazz offering alongside more established DJs like Giles Peterson, Zakia Sewell and Deb Grant.
Once relegated to late-night slots, these shows are now prime time and reach a much wider audience.
6 Music is known for supporting emerging jazz artists such as Ezra Collective and Nubya Garcia and plays a significant role in introducing these artists to a wider audience.
It is not only the sound of Jazz that is being revitalised. Old, worn-out jazz bars of the 60s are being rebought and vamped up.
London has a wealth of existing jazz venues and plans are in place to open others, such as Ronnie Scott’s reimagined Upstairs venue (Feb 2026), the upcoming Blue Note London (2026), and the Jazz Cafe East in Stratford.
We shouldn’t leave the North out though.
Both Manchester and Leeds enjoy vibrant jazz scenes with iconic venues like Matt & Phred’s (Manchester) and The Domino Club (Leeds). It is as though jazz has been blasted with a defib and has just now taken a huge breath of air.
What interests me is how the 21st century jazz image differs from the 20th century jazz image. My grandparents are also avid jazz lovers, but after listening to the Jazz that has begun to resurge in London, they weren’t impressed.
“No… that’s not for me”.
Jazz seems to have an inherent knack for adapting to the environment in which it is introduced.
Today’s jazz musicians seem to have taken elements of the genre which younger generations will understand. The hour-long self-indulgent solos seem to have gone and have been replaced by simple catchy hooks or bite-sized samples.
I hope the new ‘Golden age’ of Jazz is not short-lived. I’d love it if it were to dominate music and culture the same way it did in the 20th century, bringing the best of its dancing rhythms and exciting, exuberant style.
Image credit: Pexels
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