Is Jazz Abandoning Instrumentals For Popstar Vocals?

Jazz musicians, listeners and critics – take your pick – often seem embroiled in one kind of feud or another. Sometimes they’re over finicky little things; other times they’re deep-seated and deadly serious. In either case, however, they’re often odd, out-of-the-way sorts of quarrels, reserved for insiders alone. But right now, that’s just not true.” The topic of the day? Singers. Jazz singers are selling big time, all out of proportion to traditional jazz. Singers like Diana Krall and Norah Jones are posting popstar-size sales. One question – are jazz labels abandoning instrumentalists in hopes of hitting the next big thing?