So yes, I’m behind. I still think of “jazz” as a man in a suit with a trumpet.
Last year. Not 1953. 2023.
Falling Behind the Laufey Genre: Why Jazz Is No Longer Just for Your Grandparents falling behind laufey genre
Critics call it “trad-pop revival.” TikTok calls it “the sound of crying in a library while wearing pearls.” For those of us over 30 (or over 40, or over 50), jazz has a specific location. It lives in smoky clubs, on vinyl records, or in Ken Burns documentaries. We think of Miles Davis frowning. We think of La La Land —a movie about how jazz is dying. So yes, I’m behind
That was the moment I realized I had officially aged out of the cool crowd. But more than that, I realized a genre had shifted under my feet without me noticing. We are currently living in the era of the —and if you aren’t listening to Gen Z jazz, you’re already behind. What Is the “Laufey Genre,” Exactly? Let’s be precise. Laufey (pronounced Lay-vay ) is a 24-year-old Icelandic-Chinese singer, cellist, and composer. On paper, she is a jazz artist. She cites Ella Fitzgerald, Chet Baker, and classical composers like Ravel as her influences. But if you put her 2024 single “Goddess” next to a standard from the Great American Songbook, the vibe is completely different. Not 1953
Put Laufey next to Billie Holiday. Then put her next to Clairo, then next to Norah Jones. Don’t sort by year. Sort by vibe . You’ll start to hear the through-line.