Is Jazz as a musical genre irrelevant or is it Growing, Swinging and Blowing?

i just wish there was some good ole fashioned bop still around. i think the coffeehouses may have killed that art tho. its okay tho, theres enough charlie parker recordings out there to last me a few more years. growing - no. irrelevant - hopefully never. its definitely not mainstream anymore, unfortunately.

No, yes, yes, yes! Jazz is not dead, and it does not smell. Jazz is alive as it was hundred years ago. First of all, it is a question of education. I live in Lithuania, a small country with a high standard of jazz education. The Vilnius Jazz School has influenced many young musicians, some of them became teachers themselves, and the jazz scene in this country is alive and well. Jazz in this country is definitely growing, swinging and blowing, and many Lithuanian musicians are well recognized on the international jazz scene.

I think jazz is still very much alive. It's the record companies that may not be promoting it as much, hence the musicians themselves are taking things more into their own hands. I felt somewhat the way you did, and then I heard some young lions here in my own city that were playing Coltrane charts like nobody's business, so I think there's a lot of hope out there. Thank goodness for some of these community college and university jazz programs that keep it going. Go out and support your local jazz musicians. You never know where they'll end up. Lewis Nash, the famous drummer came from Arizona State University's jazz department. So to answer your question (finally), YES, it's most definitely growing, swinging and blowing like a big dog!! Great post!!