Jazz and Blues Music on Today’s Charts – Still Going Strong

In the realm of music, few genres have been as influential as jazz and blues. As an extension of the “country” music played throughout much of the American south, blues popped up in the early 20th century – men with guitars singing their woes. Jazz was an extension of all the incredible happenings with African American music and culture as well as the popular blues-ragtime music of the time.

Even though they fall into completely different categories today, both jazz and blues music have long been linked by their roots and their influence on many other styles of music. It’s no surprise that today both genres have loyal followings and their own brand of stars, some of whom have been around for decades.

Contemporary Jazz and Blues
Many people wouldn’t believe that you could find jazz and blues anymore in today’s contemporary melting pot of music. With so many artists today raised on the sounds of soul jazz and jazz fusion or the guitar antics of B.B King, it’s no surprise that more and more albums are throwbacks to the sounds that dominated air waves decades ago.

Jazz Music Today
The last decade’s explosion of hip hop and rap music has seen to one thing for sure – the sounds and styles of classic jazz will never fade away. Other artists have crafted throw backs to popular sounds of yore. Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black tore up the charts in the UK and US in 2006/2007, blending jazz energy and style with modern day pop sensibilities. Norah Jones has been crafting throw backs to the genre for years, offering her soulful voice, and talented tickling of the ivories to hundreds of tracks.

New Artists Visiting Old Territory
Michael Buble has found extraordinary success recently atop the Jazz/Classical charts with songs taken directly out of the 1950’s. His new millennium combination of style and energy have brought a small collection of jazz sounds back to the masses, giving the next generation a chance to hear what made music tick 50 years ago.

Other major jazz artists like Pink Martini and Diana Krall have equal measures of success in recent years. While not fully mainstream, the measure of their audience proves jazz music will always have a home.

You’ll find more than half a dozen different jazz awards in a single Grammy’s ceremony as the music industry tries to make room for new innovation and style. Classically styled jazz still has a place with Diana Reeves, Sonny Rollins, and the Pat Matheny Group making waves just under the radar.

Blues Music Today
Blues music didn’t undergo the decades of modification and reinvention that jazz has enjoyed. It was seemingly absorbed by rock and roll for a long while, with music by Jimi Hendrix and BB King reaching the masses. But slowly, the Blues style is reemerging as one of those truly classic American sounds, the kind artists the world over are more than happy to revisit time and time again.

A look at the 2006 nominees for the Blues Music Awards found an eclectic mix of old and new, classic and contemporary. Southern rockers like Stevie Ray Vaughan and ZZ Top kept the genre kicking in the 1980’s, while the 90’s saw a resurgence of the classic artists who had been making this music for decades.

Blues Music Awards and the Next Generation
B.B. King has been running the board with the awards lately, picking up a Grammy in 2006 for his Traditional Blue album 80, and the entertainer of the year award in the 2005 Blues Music Awards (Little Milton, a stalwart of the genre who has been singing and strumming his guitar since the 50s won the award 2004).

But, it’s in today’s charts that you’ll find the lasting impact of blues music. Alongside a best hits album by Stevie Ray Vaughan, you’ll find stars like John Mayer making the genre his own with enticing new pop hooks and classic guitar talent.