Synthesis Of Jazz Music

In a Newsweek article called “Jazz Is Dead (Commercially). Long Live Jazz (Creatively),” Seth Colter Walls discusses the current situation surrounding jazz music. Walls says, “It 's time, finally, to separate the question of ‘Is today 's jazz good?’ from the question ‘Is today 's jazz popular?’" There are still talented musicians playing jazz. The music’s quality remains good, but there are less people enjoying the music. “Gigs, places to play, a touring circuit, and adequate remuneration for musicians have become a serious issue for the survival of jazz in America” (Nicholson 74). But this is where innovation comes in and saves jazz. By combining jazz with other genres, it widens the music’s appeal and welcomes other listeners.

Jazz was

Like most things in the world, jazz needs to be updated over time for it to continue entertaining people. New music is always being made, and in order for jazz to carry relevance, its sound needs to evolve so that people do not abandon it out of boredom. Luckily, jazz has improvisation, so no one song ever sounds the same each time it is played. In Gary Moskowitz’s article titled “Jazz Is Not Dead,” he states: “Perhaps jazz simply needs to be rebranded, re-characterized as music that can speak for people again (even frustrated youth)” (Moskowitz 1). Jazz music is thought of as a symbol of the Civil Rights Movement—the music’s conception and growing popularity, during a time of social strife, served as a foundation for reconciliation between the different races. Today, if jazz were able to serve the same purpose, its popularity would be revived, or increase exponentially. Moskowitz claims, “Quite a few new bands are revitalizing the form in exciting ways, mixing elements of jazz (theory, improvisation, culture and composition) with other styles to create music that is often hard to label or categorize” (Moskowitz 1). People’s inability to categorize the new music as jazz, or having characteristics of jazz, is what makes some conclude the genre is entirely