Jazz as a genre is “Alive and Thriving.” However, live jazz could be losing ground with younger audiences in a digital age.
Janus Templeton and Jan Harbeck performing at La Fontaine on 30th April 2025. Photo: Alvin Heung Hiu Fung
By Alvin Heung Hiu Fung and Andreas Faurskov Groes
Janus Templeton and Jan Harbeck took the stage at the famous Jazz club La Fotaine in Copenhagen last Wednesday. Looking around the small red velvet room, you could see around fifty people, many of which not only have a deep passion for jazz but also a few white hairs.
Around 8:30 the music starts, Templeton playing drums and occasionally switching to the double bass. Harbeck rocks his tenor saxophone playing throughout the night, blasting away the audience with his notes.
According to data on music consumption by Statistics Denmark, people aged 75 and up listened to the most jazz with classical music being the most popular genre. Generation-Z or Gen-Z for short are people born from 1997 to 2012. This generation prefer genres such as Pop and Hip-hop.
“As Gen Z, people who grew up with the internet, we have a strong connection with hip-hop and rap,” said Caleb Clark, a 22-year-old exchange student visiting La Fontaine. “For example, a lot of rappers grew into the mainstream alongside technology such as mixtapes and demotapes being uploaded to YouTube—I feel like that’s quite unique,” added Clark, who is visiting a jazz club for the first time.
Without a doubt technology has completely transformed how music is produced as well as how accessible it is to different audiences. With the ubiquity of the internet, music has also become more accessible to share with services like Spotify, Apple music, and YouTube.
Clark argues that the experience of Jazz is not complete without the theatrical aspect of live performances. “The element of live performance adds a very fresh extra layer compared to just listening to Spotify.”
“I don’t know if I would listen to it on my own, being here live is the experience for me.” said Nathan Sheperd, a 22-year-old exchange student also at La Fontaine.
During the performance at La Fontaine, audience members were completely silent and intently watching on as Templeton played. The “Jazz art form demands full attention, which is the antithesis of an era characterized by a decreasing attention span.
“Normally, La Fontaine is packed with young people Friday, Saturday, Sunday. On Wednesdays we attract a mix of both younger and older, the average age is 45 probably tonight?” Templeton said, while packing up his drumsticks. “But it would be great if we went around all the jazz clubs in Denmark and the average age is less than 70.”
Despite data suggesting that Jazz is on the decline, there is a lot of evidence suggesting that it is still alive and thriving. Last year, the Copenhagen Jazz Festival brought in an average of 250,000 people a absurd amount even for a music festival. “There are over 80 jazz venues in Denmark, so overall, I believe jazz is in good shape here.” Said Tobias Bendixen a Project coordinator for Jazz Danmark an organization working to spread awareness about jazz in Denmark.
“Compared to pop and hip hop, jazz is a niche genre, but it’s a big niche. There have been better times, sure — but I see this as Jazz’s third golden age.” Said Bendixen.
The biggest challenge now is getting Gen z into bars and clubs that play Jazz and figuring out how to build a wider audience. “We need more places like La Fontaine that attracts giant crowds of Young people” said Templeton suggesting ways to boost Jazz’s popularity to a younger audience. For GenZ pricing is also an important factor in increasing Jazz’s popularity. “I think if it was free you would get a lot more people to come here.” said Sheperd after the show.