Dark Jazz, Doom Jazz, Jazz Noir: What’s the Difference?

It’s time to draw lines.

Dark Jazz, Doom Jazz, and Jazz Noir; each label is more evocative than descriptive at face value, yet all conjure a similar abstract image of foreboding, morose, and somber sophistication.

The term one prefers to use tends to come with a stylistic preference or sonic expectation within the genre. But simply using these terms interchangeably to refer to two or perhaps three distinctive compositional styles is growing old.

I’ve spent an unhealthy amount of time listening to Dark Jazz, Doom Jazz, and Jazz Noir playlists, reading Youtube comment sections and Reddit threads of recommendations when I could’ve been doing something useful with my life.

Here’s the actual difference between Doom Jazz, Dark Jazz, and Jazz Noir:

Doom Jazz

• Rooted in Post-Metal, Doom Metal, and/or Ambient Music
• Lyrical and aesthetic elements are more likely to contain Twin Peaks iconography, Horror iconography, and/or shock elements

Jazz Noir

• Music that is first and foremost rooted in 20th century Jazz subgenres including (but not limited to) Avant Garde Jazz, Cool Jazz, and West Coast Jazz
• Includes selected songs, albums, and film scores from the 20th century that have been retroactively catalogued
• Lyrical and aesthetic content is more likely to elicit idealized notions of Film Noir and Neo-Noir film and literary genres

Dark Jazz

• The most pervasive of the three distinctions
• Seamlessly blends Jazz composition and modern Ambient in dark and somber ways
• Simultaneously a crossover genre and an umbrella genre that encapsulates Doom Jazz and Jazz Noir

There you have it. If you can be bothered to make a distinction (and I think you ought to), there it is.

Which one will become the dominant strain or if any of them carry any momentum over the next few decades is yet to be seen. There’s still plenty of room for fresh and interesting work within the three distinctions. Keep an ear out! And support the artists you believe in!