Jazz is very much alive, and following in the footsteps of Gilles Peterson's essential 2018 compilation We Out Here (which documents the current UK jazz scene), Adult Swim has released New Jazz Century, featuring a who's who of modern jazz musicians from all around the world, including Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Sons of Kemet, Matana Roberts, Angel Bat Dawid, Makaya McCraven, Colin Stetson, Nate Mercereau & Dave Harrington, Eivind Opsvik, and more.
"Jazz is an influence that’s always been in the background of the sorts of music we play on Adult Swim, particularly electronic and hip hop," said Adult Swim writer/producer Luke Rhodes, who spearheaded this project. "But we’ve only recently started bringing that influence into the foreground. A compilation seemed like an opportunity to bring jazz more into the spotlight, as well as to introduce our audience to some modern currents in the jazz scene. We tried to narrow it down to a group that showed how much diversity is in the genre today, both in terms of who is playing jazz and what they’re doing with the form."