Presley Beal ‘26
Birthed in America, trumpets began to squeal, piano keys were unboundedly played, vocals were entirely unraveled, and the wild new genre of jazz named itself. To non-jazz lovers today, the genre seems to intermix and align with a theme of elevator music. Admittedly, they do coexist in this age, but in its 1920s unmatched peak, jazz music was symbolic, full of woo, and alive more than music had ever been. Revolutionary in the Roaring 20s, the musical dynamic was rebellious and unhinged. However, accredited to the Harlem Renaissance and Black culture at the time, freedom stemmed from the genre of jazz and changed artistic eyes and ears forever.
All of Gen-Z seems to think they were “born in the wrong era.” The generation intentionally crafts their Instagrams according to their identified aesthetic; the popular ones go as such: Y2K, Coquette, Vintage, Dark Academia, etc. For specific people groups, to be modern is to have lost a sense of self; you’d conform too much to others, you’d be far too plain. So instead, being “vintage” marks you with the characteristic of holding a depth that the broad rest don’t understand. To actually view physical art galleries, invest in a film camera, and shop second-hand makes you a classic. To enjoy, interpret, explore, and feel music makes you actually real.
Though seemingly sounding like an epidemic, the longing for individualism is a real thing. Flappers weren’t of the only generation scurrying for a sense of self expression. Gen-Zers can’t stand being like anyone else, so alongside their aesthetic expressions, the generation clings to musical expression as well. However, within the form of jazz specifically, some enthusiasts disagree with a Gen-Z “modern” ear as a listener. Jazz appreciator Lauren Colquett ‘25 says, “I think there’s a specific type of person who can find beauty in the mundane like art, poetry, and jazz specifically.” She went on to say, “My friend Cass and I like to listen to jazz on our record player and just sip tea…there’s a specific type of person who understands that vibe.” Daniel Chewning ‘26 puts it this way: “I think a lot of Gen-Z people listen to jazz just to say that they listen to jazz.” In reference to the generation (and their longing to fit in an aesthetic) he continued saying, “They want to identify with that part of society. It’s trending right now to be high-class and “old-money” and so if you are telling everyone you listen to jazz, you’re a part of that culture.” So, how many Gen-Z listeners truly confide in jazz performances and productions for the pure enjoyment of their being? In the view of every-day jazz listener Andrew Gergely ‘26, “The youth doesn’t appreciate jazz enough and doesn’t understand it enough.” With his particular taste for smooth jazz, Gergely connects the genre to his morning routine: read the news, make breakfast, listen to jazz. He further says, “There are so many benefits that jazz has on our thinking ability…we can process how we feel through music.”
A century later, and jazz today is just as expressive as the year it was born. However, combined with the creator minds of Gen-Z, jazz is dipping into and featured within hip-hop, rap, and house/EDM music. Just as the genre was created to express, it is now poured into a variety of other mixes. Jazz-house artist by the stage name, “berlioz” (yes, in lowercase) blew up on TikTok for mixing the unmixable and Gen-Z is obsessed. His first popular single, “jazz is for ordinary people” begins classy and traditional until followed by a familiar bass nearing towards a house beat. And the creators don’t stop there; the freedom that jazz already holds allows for playful fabrication, and Gen-Z won’t stop until every aesthetic opens their ears for a new art and a classic appreciation.
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