We’ve got a list of YouTube jazz influencers here to help you celebrate today’s International Jazz Day. According to Heepsy, there are around 3,000 YouTube influencers whose biographies or video titles mention jazz. So let’s take a look at a few of them to celebrate International Jazz Day.
What is International Jazz Day?
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated April 30th International Jazz Day back in November 2011. Since then, it’s been a day to highlight jazz and the way the art form connects people from around the world.
UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay chairs International Jazz Day alongside Herbie Hancock, jazz pianist, composer, and director of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz. Each year, the celebration attracts artists, students, historians, and general jazz enthusiasts to learn about the roots of jazz, its impact on our global culture, and its future.
This year, the celebration will include both in-person and virtual events in light of the ongoing pandemic. Local events are scheduled for around the world, and an all-star concert will stream on jazzday.com today at 5pm ET.
YouTube jazz influencers
Just to be clear, this list excludes jazz legends like Miles Davis or Charlie Parker. They’re certainly influential, but they’re not the type of influencers we talk about here at Heepsy.
The influencers we’ve featured below are all people creating jazz content for YouTube, and who could potentially work on YouTube campaigns with brands.
Jeff Schneider
Subscribers: 244K
Average views per video: 28K
Jeff is a musician, composer, and teacher who wants to make learning advanced music accessible to anyone who's willing to put in the work, and his channel focuses on just that. Jeff started out practicing saxophone by playing Charlie Parker solos for eight hours a day. He now holds a Masters of Music in Jazz Composition and Arranging from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Aimee Nolte Music
Subscribers: 196K
Average views per video: 3.2K
Aimee is a jazz pianist and singer from Los Angeles. Aimee’s channel focuses on teaching piano, music theory and jazz history. She has video playlists like Piano Yoga, Hearing the Difference, and Beginning Jazz Piano to help aspiring and experienced musicians learn new skills.
New Jazz
Subscribers: 233K
Average views per video: 150K
Oliver Prehn’s New Jazz channel focuses on jazz piano improvisation. He claims to not play old jazz music, but rather new jazz that’s never been played before. Oliver has a Master’s degree in Music and Multimedia from the University of Aarhus, Denmark, and when he’s not playing music, works as a bus driver.
Bernie’s Bootlegs
Subscribers: 43.5K
Average views per video: 2.2K
Bernie’s Bootlegs is devoted to jazz history. Don’t expect to find tutorials and improv tips on this channel. Instead, Bernie offers you old jazz clips and his podcast, in which he interviews current jazz musicians to get their takes on the genre.
The Jazz Hop Cafe
Subscribers: 962K
Average views per video: 260K
International Jazz Day doesn’t just look to jazz’s past, but also to its future. And The Jazz Hop Cafe is making jazz music accessible to younger generations, remote workers, and stressed-out individuals looking to relax. According to Forbes, the US Department of Defense even asked about collaborating. The online music platform and record label serves freshly roasted beats, and offers jazzhop and lo-fi music set to beautiful, anime-inspired illustrations.
Joan Chamorro
Subscribers: 195K
Average views per video: 14K
Joan Chamorro is a Spanish multi-instrumentalist jazz musician and teacher. He’s also the founder of the Sant Andreu Jazz Band, a youth jazz ensemble from Barcelona. Since 2006, Joan has taught young students and accompanied them on tours around Spain.
Jazz at Lincoln Center’s JAZZ ACADEMY
Subscribers: 186K
Average views per video: 3.2K
Okay, this one’s not technically an influencer. Jazz at Lincoln Center is a New York City organization that hosts concerts from jazz performers and also offers educational programs for aspiring jazz musicians. JAZZ ACADEMY is a media library of educational videos the organization produces. There’s no single influencer personality dominating this channel, but many influential jazz performers pass through its videos.
Conclusion
Jazz music may not enjoy the same fame as hip-hop, electronic or pop music these days, but there’s still a devoted following for this genre. Thanks to the internet, and particularly social media, jazz performers are able to share their work, and celebrations like International Jazz Day are possible. So even if you can’t make it to a concert, check out these YouTube channels and the artists featured at jazzday.com to sing along, relax or even just listen while you work from home.
