Jazz

A transitional masterpiece—part vintage, part modern. For the past few years, I’ve immersed myself in the captivating world of perfumery—a realm where the nose becomes a compass and scent, a language. It’s a thrilling, almost alchemical journey: exploring hundreds of raw materials in both their pure and diluted forms, discovering how they harmonize or collide in unexpected ways. This experience has fundamentally reshaped how I perceive fragrance. Now, when I smell a perfume, I’m not merely enjoying it—I’m deciphering its story. One of the most exciting parts is spotting the building blocks—the naturals and synthetics—that give a perfume its soul. Each raw material has its own unmistakable identity. Once you’ve smelled it in isolation, it’s like recognizing a familiar face in a crowd. And some of these materials are so overdosed, they practically shout their presence. Take Dihydro Myrcenol, for example. If you’ve ever smelled a men’s fragrance in the last few decades, chances are you’ve met this fresh, blue, limey, lavender-tinged note. It’s the backbone of countless perfumes, most famously Davidoff’s Cool Water by Pierre Bourdon. That scent was so iconic, Dihydro Myrcenol became its olfactory signature. But it doesn’t stop there—you’ll find it in Dior’s Sauvage, Chanel’s Allure Homme, and hundreds more. Once you’ve smelled it solo, it starts popping up everywhere—even in perfumes you thought you knew inside out—which brings me to YSL Jazz. I’ve worn Jazz for nearly a decade. It’s one of my all-time favorite Aromatic Fougères—crisp, clean, spicy, woody, and effortlessly elegant. It’s the kind of scent that fits any occasion, and I’ve gone through multiple bottles over the years. And in my mind, it's always belonged to the previous generation of fougeres—that came after Azzaro pour Homme but before Cool Water. But today, after a long hiatus, I sprayed it on and—bam! —a tidal wave of Dihydro Myrcenol hit me square in the nose. It was like rediscovering an old friend who had a side I never knew about. What’s fascinating is how Jazz, released the same year as Cool Water, straddles two generations of Fougères. It carries the spicy, mossy, leathery DNA of classic perfumery, while also hinting at the fresh, blue accords that would dominate the decades to come. It’s a transitional masterpiece—part vintage, part modern. That said, the “blue accord” felt a bit too familiar this time around. Maybe it’s my evolving taste, but those fresh, aquatic fougères now strike me as a bit generic. I’ve worn them for years, but today they lack the intrigue they once held. So while Jazz has always been a perfect 10 in my book, I’m nudging it down just a notch. Still, make no mistake—YSL Jazz is a beautifully crafted fragrance. If you’re a fan of the Fougère genre, this one deserves a spot on your skin. It’s a scent that tells a story, bridging eras with style and sophistication. 9.5/10

Review corresponding to the "Memphis" bottle, piano key, 1992 batch: I'm a fan of the La Collection version, which I knew before the vintage, and I already consider it challenging. The point is that when I got to know Jazz Vintage and doing a test side by side between the two, it's amazing how different they are. In terms of olfactory memory, if the person knows Jazz Vintage but has not sprayed it for a long time, they will flow very similar, which was my case. I had memories of Jazz somehow in my head, I was born in the 90s, so this perfume always sounded familiar to me, probably because I felt it in the projection when someone used it. It's amazing how, in the side-by-side test between the two, La Collection is clean near the vintage; for me, that's not bad. In terms of usability, I prefer, with tranquility, the Jazz La Collection, which develops in a very balanced tempered and spicy green chord, a little fougére somehow, but I feel more spices in a green/herbal aura. I tried to use the vintage and I couldn't, but I love to appreciate it for the art, that spray on the back after a day of work, after the shower, and following its evolution while watching TV or listening to good music. The smell in the Vintage projection refers to mold and "smell of storage" when used in "fulltest", it is not pleasant for me. The magic happens when you change the disc and use it for art; a spray on the back, and it already reveals itself taking care of the environment in a herbal and green chord, but with a lot of spice and pepper, with flowers around, and at this stage, on my nose, it is too pleasant, because it takes me to the classic barbershop somehow, in a classic male chord. Incredibly it changes completely in drying, when this smell of mold and stored dominates, with the chord of the opening still resisting, but in the background; on the back, it doesn't sound unpleasant to me, it's even good to feel, because I get some sweeter tone in the background, almost subjective, which I would risk saying that it's jasmine, a note that usually goes down very well in my nostrils. It rounds this moldy tone and stored that, when sprayed a little, is controlled by the florals and slightly sweet spicy notes. When settling on the skin, and here it was very cool, more sensitive noses will still detect the smell of storage, but it calms on a creamy musky wood that took me on a new olfactory journey, in high school, when I often used Coty's Wild Musk deodorant, already discontinued these days. It was very similar to the smell of Wild Musk at its base. 3 well-defined, distinct phases and very intriguing aroma. My bottle has about 40 ml and I'm going to spend my whole life without being able to dry because it's so strong. Lucky me.

I was finally able to secure a proper (molded black & white plastic cover) vintage bottle of Jazz made in 1988 (batch 8279). Wow, what a vast difference in quality and smell to the reformulated products released after 2000. I bought the latest clear glass cube version (2018 batch), before it got discontinued, and also a 2004 bottle (as in the picture above) this year and they do not come close to the superior original Jazz which I fell in love with in the early 1990's. The 2004 product is better than the 2018 in both smell and performance, which means it has been a gradual downward spiral from the original release. It was actually my very first proper fragrance as a teenager and I am happy to smell it again after all this time and in the way it was designed to smell. I suspect the later severe restrictions on the use of oakmoss by IFRA also played a part. There also seem to be other notes missing from the reformulations which altered the character of "Jazz" in the later produced versions for me.The vintage is definitely more spicy and aromatic than the later version where I pick up stronger woody notes, not unlike pencil shavings. The later formulations last a couple of hours on me but after spraying the vintage 7 hours ago on my hand, it still comes through strongly. Clean, classy, rich deep and a unique smelling product matched probably only by a few other fragrances. I love and own VC&A Tsar too and did not see a close resemblance (as suggested here) before but there are definitely some similarities between the VINTAGE Jazz and Tsar that is not noticeable at all with the reformulated versions.Tsar leans more green. I am of the opinion that Jazz cannot be fairly reviewed if not based on the original formulation. I have used quite a few of the tall clear bottles of batches released between 2006 and 2010, that were cheap and readily available locally around 2010/2011, and while I thought they were adequate at the time I realised now that it was not a complete product as it was missing a lot of what made the 1990’s product so great. 9.5/10 for the true 1988 to 1990's vintage. UPDATE: I bought another 100 ml bottle from the Sanofi period. This one is from a batch May 2000 and unfortunately already reformulated from the vintage proper Jazz of the 1988 to mid 1990's. So my advice is not to bother with the bottles released in the tall clear glass, even if it is marked "Sanofi" (as in the white & black plastic bottles after 1993) as it is not quite the same product that should not demand a premium price to be paid.

This review is a little late but I only just realised I never got around to writing a review for my most holy grail of discontinued fragrances. Firstly, the La Collection version has nothing on the OG. YSL Jazz is one of those scents I wore when I was a teenager to young adult whenever I went out to a party or nightclub. It was my going out scent and always invokes fond memories of being young and excited to hit the night out partying. Over the years, I had forgotten about the cherished black and white, plastic piano key bottle I used to have until many years later when I really began to become a fraghead. Not only was I able to find an original black and white bottle online for $20, a few months later I managed to score three of the later glass bottle formulations for dirt cheap as well. These bottles now sit proudly in my collection as my most precious scents. I think much of the allure of Jazz is the nostalgia factor, so if you hadn't liked it back in the late 80's and early 90's, then you might not understand the appeal and why it's so cherished amongst some in fragcomm, especially those who experienced it at the time. Apart from the fact that YSL discontinue all their best fragrances, Jazz is the creme de la creme of their discontinued frags in my opinion, and the main reason why, is because this really smells and feels like a jazz club. Anytime I visit a jazz club or go to a jazz concert, I am wearing this because I have never experienced a fragrance that was more true to it's name than YZL Jazz.

what a nice fragrance! ysl jazz is a perfect mix of green, floral and spicy notes. everything is gentle, nothing screaming. jazz has a touch of retro style but it cant be considered an old-man parfume. it's so clean and fresh, it reminds me a lot rive gauche, which is better for richness and performance, but jazz is so gourgeous, so well done...wow! for me it's a great barbershop fragrance but it's only my humble opinion. casual and elegant in the same time, inoffensive and perfect for overspraying. u cant ask more from jazz.it's absolutely manly, for me it's a safe blind buy. i have the long transparent bottle and i heard it's discontinued but u can find "la collection" version on the market, but i cant tell u the differences between them. however the version i have it's not so difficult to find in a store and the price is very affordable. seasons:all occasions: work, free time. not dates because it's not the sexiest fragrance on the market. performance is average, projects good for the first 1-1,5 hour, then became silent. it lasts for 4 hours more or less. una fantastica scoperta! scent:8 longevity: 7,5 sillage: 7,5 versatility:8,5 uniqueness: 8 bottle:7 my vote: 8 in one word: pleasant alternative- givenchy xeryus update may 2018: i get the original version with the black and white bottle and i find for the 95% similar to mine. the older seems to be a little bit heavier and maybe more herbal but for me are basically the same scent.