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Subject: Why have all attempts at a jazz/swing revival in the US failed?

Written By: bchris02 on 09/20/17 at 5:00 pm

The most well-known attempt at a jazz/swing revival was in the late 1990s.  Some great stuff was released during that era but unfortunately, it had little staying power and the entire thing petered out.  We had another attempt at a swing revival in the early '10s.  This time it was electro-swing, but that was even less prolific than the late '90s swing revival.

Has the genre simply run its course in the US?  Does anybody think it has a future at all?

Subject: Re: Why have all attempts at a jazz/swing revival in the US failed?

Written By: Looney Toon on 09/20/17 at 5:09 pm

I can't tell you why the Swing Revival faded. But I can tell you that Electro Swing did become popular, however, only in Europe. This is because a lot of European Electro Swing artists made a push to get their swing tracks out to the general public. This is why Parov Stelor and Caravan Palace were able to make a name for themselves in Europe and sell albums. In the US this never happened. Artists are too caught up forcing out Trap or R&B tracks. 

The Swing Revival was big in the US, but I think it just faded when the artists stopped making tracks and moved to other things. As for Electro Swing the current "EDM" craze could get the genre back into the spotlight in the US. Just need an artists to make a hit track.

Subject: Re: Why have all attempts at a jazz/swing revival in the US failed?

Written By: bchris02 on 09/20/17 at 6:03 pm

^^^ For whatever reason, it seems like Europe is and has always been more open to experimental genres.  There have been a lot of great bands/genres that have been big in Europe that nobody will touch in the US.  It seems like the US, nobody wants to take any risks anymore.

Subject: Re: Why have all attempts at a jazz/swing revival in the US failed?

Written By: #Infinity on 09/20/17 at 6:16 pm

The thing about jazz and swing music is that since the 1960s, it's been much more prominent as accompaniment music rather than straight-up pop. It's not uncommon to come across modal jazz or evem a Frank Sinatra classic in a motion picture, for example, especially if it's independent. However, newer genres have the reputation of being more risqué and cutting edge, in contrast to jazz's association with the 20s to 50s, a comparatively regressive stretch of time.

Back in the late 90s, there was a song called "Zoot Suit Riot," which went so far in its endeavor to revive swing music that it failed to properly modernize the genre in the process. Its bonkers lyrics would have been completely at home in the 1930s. At a time dominated by hardcore hip hop, angsty alternative rock, and sexually provocative bubblegum music, that song sounded incredibly corny and out of place. Even though it was featured on the first American Now album and got parodied by Weird Al, it barely left a dent on the charts, only performing marginally on the Mainstream Top 40 and then being promptly forgotten, remembered as nothing but an obscure novelty. Needless to say, you can probably see why it never left nearly the same cultural impact as, say, the theme song from Family Guy.

Subject: Re: Why have all attempts at a jazz/swing revival in the US failed?

Written By: 2001 on 09/20/17 at 6:19 pm

There was a lot of jazz instruments in music in 2014, which is why I really liked that year. Songs like Problem, All About That Bass, Shake It Off, Uptown Funk etc. a lot of others.

Subject: Re: Why have all attempts at a jazz/swing revival in the US failed?

Written By: Escondudo on 09/22/17 at 7:07 pm

I respectfully disagree. Jazz came back in the 1980s as smooth jazz, riding a wave of success through the early 2000s. Jazz music also accompanied film and television during that time period. I'm watching Ace Ventura now, and they're playing jazz music. It never came back in its fully traditional form, but hardly anything does.

Subject: Re: Why have all attempts at a jazz/swing revival in the US failed?

Written By: Howard on 09/23/17 at 3:05 pm

Why would I want a jazz revival, I don't think it's going to happen.

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