Jazz has never really gone anywhere. But it has definitely had a rebrand and Gen Z is paying attention.
For a long time, at least for me, jazz lived in the background. Dinner parties, dimly lit bars, the kind of thing you’d politely sit through rather than actively seek out. Somewhere along the way, it stopped being seen as fun.
Which is funny, because jazz didn’t start that way at all.
Early jazz came out of Black American communities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It pulled from West African rhythm and blues and ragtime, with artists like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald laying the blueprint. It was social, expressive and, importantly, made for movement. Big band and swing eras in the 1920s to 1940s had people packed onto dance floors. Jazz was never meant to be background noise.
And yet, fast forward a few decades, and jazz somehow picked up a reputation for being a bit… serious.
Now, Gen Z seems to be dragging it back into something more alive.
You can hear it everywhere. Laufey’s soft, romantic take on jazz and bossa nova has built an audience all the way to the Olympics.
@pampamyie i started crying. Like one of my favourite skaters and LAUFEY in the olympics 🥹🥹🤍 #alysaliu #figureskating #olympics #milanocortina2026 #laufey
♬ original sound – ⋆.𐙚 ̊ ija
Raye is pulling from jazz and soul traditions to create these huge, theatrical live moments.
And then there are the more unexpected comparisons. Sabrina Carpenter’s playful, slightly sarcastic delivery has shades of Blossom Dearie, who was known for that same light, cheeky and sarcastic vocal style. The through-line isn’t always direct, but it’s there if you’re listening for it.
@zoeirecords 🗣️ Calling all @Sabrina Carpenter & Tyler, The Creator fans!! Here are some Jazz artists you may enjoy as well 🥳 (Just a fun lil video of my personal opinions, in hopes to put more people on to Jazz. So to all the jazz polices seeing this, pls don’t take it too seriously 🙃) . . #musicrecommendation #jazz #musicdiscovery
♬ Busy Woman – Sabrina Carpenter
Truly, the influence has always been there — Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill built entire sounds around it and Adele has long drawn on jazz phrasing and instrumentation.
So while people are calling this a “jazz revival”, it’s probably more accurate to say jazz just sounds a bit different right now.
That shift is playing out in real time at events like Jazz Doof in Naarm/Melbourne, where live bands and DJs share the same space and a very young crowd shows up for both.
Co-founders of Moor Music (the crew behind Jazz Doof) Josh Olave and Charlie Woods, say the idea didn’t come from trying to bring jazz back. It came from being over everything else.
“I was bored of every other event that was going on… you go to parties and they all felt exactly the same,” Olave said.
So they built something else entirely.
“Why don’t we mix live music and DJs together and create a jazz rave, Jazz Doof community?”
The format sounds chaotic on paper, but in practice it works. Bands play, DJs take over, and the energy doesn’t really drop. According to Woods, that’s part of why it’s clicking with younger crowds.
“We get a huge mix. People want to move their bodies again. You actually can dance to it and you can hear it,” he said.
“People just love seeing instruments being played, and being played well. There’s a real musicality to it that I think draws people in.”
Olave, who was originally a metal head, traces his own turning point back to seeing a live jazz-influenced set for the first time.
“I [saw] all these people dancing to music that was completely improvised, and I’d never seen that before,” he said. “I’d never seen people lose themselves in the music so much as in that.”
That feeling of being part of something happening in real time is central to how jazz has always worked. As jazz musician, Herbie Hancock, puts it, “jazz is the greatest of all human expressions. In jazz, we’re constantly in the moment, creating in the moment… it is a conversation between the musicians and a conversation that we have with the audience,” per Masterclass.
@masterclass #HerbieHancock speaks jazz fluently 🎷 #jazz #jazztok #musician #internationaljazzday #masterclass
♬ original sound – MasterClass
That idea of connection feels especially relevant now. After years of nightlife that can feel repetitive or detached, there’s something appealing about music that’s unpredictable and human.
“I’ve always loved going to DJs, I’ve always loved going to raves, I’ve always loved going to doofs. But what really upset me moving to Melbourne — the live music capital — wasthe death of live music,” said Olave.
“Everyone just wanted to go take pingers and go to the club and dissociate, dissociate, and not actually connect with people. And so I was like, ‘Okay, cool, I’m going to trick everyone and educate them that live bands — live music and DJs together is actually the vibe’.”
Charlie said, “This came from like the Melbourne underground jazz musicians playing this live dance party music and then it became bigger than the party.”
At the same time, what’s happening at Jazz Doof isn’t strictly traditional jazz. It pulls from soul and house, and leans into rhythm in a way that feels immediately accessible.
“I was just thinking, why did we land on Jazz Doof? Because that is the music — it’s danceable jazz music, it’s danceable jazz and electronic music, right?” Charlie explained.
Which gets to the heart of the current moment. A lot of what Gen Z is engaging with sits in that jazz-adjacent space. It’s influenced by jazz, shaped by it, but not necessarily confined to it.
And maybe that’s why it’s working.
Jazz has always been about improvisation, collaboration and evolution. The form was never meant to stay still. So whether it’s a warehouse in Melbourne, a TikTok soundtracking someone’s crash out, or a massive festival stage, the core idea remains the same.
People, responding to each other, in the moment.
As Olave puts it, the goal is simple: bring people together and actually make them feel something again.
And judging by the crowds showing up, it’s landing.
Lead image: Getty / Instagram
The post When Did Gen Z Become Obsessed With Jazz? Inside Melbourne’s Jazz Doof appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
