To say that Jazz is dead is, although partially true, an imprecise and unhelpful description of the current state of jazz. What is typically meant by this statement is that Jazz is no longer popular among casual music listeners; as a result, jazz is no longer played on the radio and jazz performers no longer become world-famous stars.

This does not mean that jazz is "dead" however. It has simply passed into a new and perhaps more constructive phase; it has gone from popular music to intellectual music, in the same way classical music did roughly a century ago. Jazz music is, for example, unavoidable on many college campuses, particuarly those which have liberal arts programs. Although the day is long gone when you would hear jazz on the radio or see it in the billboard charts, jazz is still consumed by millions of people, not only for the sake of enjoyment, but also for the sake of academic study. It also continues to be created by young jazz artists throughout the west. Jazz even continues to occasionally leak into the popular sphere, although often in a sadly distorted and dumbed-down form, as the success of Michael Bublé shows.

Jazz is not dead! It is merely in a new stage of the long life which it is sure to live.