Quincy Jones is about to launch the 'Netflix of jazz'

Jazz on tap.
 By 
Shannon Connellan
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Now here's a strong niche.

Legendary producer Quincy Jones has jumped into the streaming pool with a new video platform for hardcore jazz lovers.

Dubbed the "Netflix of jazz" by Kevin Le Gendre of BBC Radio 3, Qwest TV is apparently the world’s first subscription video-on-demand platform dedicated to jazz.

Set to launch on Dec. 15, Qwest is a curated online library of documentaries, concerts, interviews and short features, most of which are not available on other streaming sites like Netflix and Hulu, or even YouTube. Plus content will come with liner notes penned by journalists and jazz experts.

Jones launched a Kickstarter campaign for the project in September, which raised €142,556 ($168,243) with over 1,000 backers. Qwest nods to more than a few of music's biggest legends in its "Thanks" section on the website, including Erykah Badu, Questlove, Gregory Porter and Kamasi Washington, so the platform seems to have pretty legitimate industry backing.

Each month, Qwest will release new playlists by guest curators, including jazz journalists, scholars, and musicians. According to the New York Times, the platform will launch with a 10-part series of musician portraits called “The Sound of New York,” originally shown in Italy.

Subscriptions are competitively priced, starting at 6.24€ ($7.36) per month for standard, and 8.33€ ($9.83) for premium.

Look, it's pretty niche, but we rather enjoy Jones' dedication to optimising jazz for 2017.

“I believe that a hundred years from now, when people look back at the 20th century, they will view Bird, Miles and Dizzy, as our Mozart, Bach, Chopin and Tchaikovsky," states Jones on the Qwest website.

"It is my hope that Qwest TV will serve to carry forth and build on the great legacy that is jazz for many generations to come."

Topics Music

A photo portrait of a journalist with blonde hair and a band t-shirt.
Shannon Connellan
UK Editor

Shannon Connellan is Mashable's UK Editor based in London, formerly Mashable's Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives in the Creel House. A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about entertainment, tech, social good, science, culture, and Australian horror.

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