The roots of western music are heavily influenced by jazz and blues, so you might say that we’re getting back to our roots in terms of our musical culture.

Jazz has been making somewhat of a comeback in recent years with some excellent emerging groups and solo artists. For those who are fans of classic jazz, these groups have stayed true to their roots, while still offering something new and innovative.

What we end up with is music that stays committed to its jazz origins, while also incorporating elements of today’s more syncopated modern pop and rock. Thus far, the results have been pretty spectacular as we’ve had no shortage of excellent new jazz albums to choose from.

This is a list of groups that have stood out in particular and produced some of the best new jazz records within the last few years. While their styles differ to a marked degree, they’ve all done a great job of incorporating what our music used to be with what it is has become in our modern day.

Vijay Iyer Trio

This three-piece band is responsible for an album titled Accelerando, which is possibly one of the best new jazz records in recent memory. The band’s sound is highly syncopated and tight, but at the same time, it bends and flows like you would expect from classic jazz. For being only a three-piece group, their sound is incredibly full and powerful.

Meklit Hadero

Hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area, Meklit Hadero plays acoustic guitar, sings with an incredibly clear voice and incorporates a full band behind her unique take on jazz, which is difficult to aptly categorize. Some of her work will remind you of Norah Jones, but her music is somewhat hard to pin down, despite being incredibly fun and easy to listen to.

Mary Halvorson Quintet

This five-part group’s music is story-telling in its structure and will take you through a variety of different emotions and thoughts from within a single track. The electric guitar work is particularly interesting as it gives the band a distinctly progressive rock feel on a number of tracks.

Gregory Porter

Gregory Porter has gained a lot of popularity overseas, despite being born in Los Angeles and now residing in Brooklyn. His sound is more elastic and classical, though he has a big voice that brings a lot of power to his ballads. If you’re looking for a more “true to roots” jazz sound with powerful vocals, Porter delivers big time.

Catherine Russell

Catherine Russell had some help getting where she is today. Being the daughter of Louis Armstrong’s musical director as well as a backup singer to both Paul Simon and Cyndi Lauper (before she ever released her debut album), definitely helped her out. Aside from her being seemingly destined to become a jazz singer, Russell deserves every bit of the credit she’s getting as she boasts a clean and powerful voice and a recognizable American spirit.

Jazz is absolutely getting a reboot and is becoming more visible than it has been in recent decades. While part of that might be an overall trend and desire to get some more easy listening onto our iPods, it’s more of a matter of getting back to the type of music that got us here in the first place.

Jazz and blues are responsible for nearly all of the music that we listen to today, so it stands to reason that giving those genres some much needed attention would be well-received and enjoyed.

Guest post by Marcela De Vivo, a freelance writer from Southern California whose writing covers everything from music to technology and health. She currently works with David Anderson Pianos and as a jazz music lover herself, enjoys listening to many of today’s jazz artists.