Jazz 
Yves Saint Laurent (1988)

YSL seem to make some great scents that have rather average longevity. YSL Jazz is no exception it lasts about 4 hours on my skin but the scent is wonderful. It evokes a certain classiness, a sense of a purposeful man about town. Jazz is an aromatic fragrance that is fresh, a little spicy in the opening and with a well blended floral dry down that also reveals some woody notes. In the opening there are distinct bergamot, nutmeg and anise notes. The sandalwood comes through early for me. During the dry down there are geranium and lavender notes along with the woodiness from the sandalwood and a hint of leather. It is a beautifully blended fragrance that I remember was very popular in the very early 90s. The sillage of Jazz is about arm length. Although I love the fragrance I think it is starting to date a bit, but I still enjoy wearing it very much. I think older millennials and gen-x men would appreciate it more as it was a fragrance of our generation. It is a versatile fragrance that can be worn year round and in a variety of settings.

He is a elegant and mature gentleman, wears a shirt with a collar and an actual pair of shoes, hold a chair for a lady, silent to helpless critters, don't talk like a thug. The vintage Jazx is a ultra green, herbal, woody, spicy, classy and extremely masculine scent. An honest, good aromatic fougere. Very much an 80's/90's powerhouse, but still revelant today. For those of you who love to idolize stars like Sean Connery, James Dean or Elvis; Jazz could be any of these people. This really sets you apart from the boys. Refreshing and bright on the opening, classy in the mids, and a dry down to die for. A real head-turner.

A bursts of coriander, cardamom and lavender freshened up with a bit of citrus starts the fragrance off. The green notes mixed with the coniferous and herbaceous notes is so beautifully masculine. The spice comes through in the mid of this scent and acts as a great backdrop for the other notes. With the added healty dash of sandalwood and oakmoss in the dry down. The oakmoss is discernible, though somewhat toned down, and together with tobacco and woods comprise an abstract accord that concludes the final transformation. This scent also exudes a lovely aromatic earthiness like autumn rain in a garden. Though not particularly barbershop in nature either. Elegant and powerful, but not as dark and macho as Antaeus, Jules or Quorum. perfect for formal occasionsa or late night encounter. Pure class in a bottle.

YSL Jazz EDT Splash (Vintage Black and White bottle) -

Straight-ahead. This isn't fusion or rock 'n' roll.

This is a walking upright bass and a swinging ride cymbal. A locked in rhythm section that can hold it down for hours while the soloists out front explore the tune.

Think of the legendary Miles Davis Quintet from the mid-50's. Straight-ahead, all the way.

4.5 stars

I have a bottle from cir. 1995. It is too emotive to give a fair review as this scent takes me back to my college days and all of the memories associated with that time (1991 +)

It is a lovely 90s carnation-cedarwood fragrance that will probably mean something to people that are already searching out a bottle. However, it isn't worth buying if you are not familiar with it already.

The trick with Jazz is that people will like it and dislike it for exactly the same reason.

Jazz is, as has been described in painstaking detail by other reviewers before me, a safe, spicy fougere. It harkens back to the 19th century, and it accomplishes this feat spectacularly well, and that is where you will get the division among people. Some will say -- myself included -- that this is a fragrance that is a reference to 19th and early 20th century fougeres that hits the nail on the head as being a well-thought out and well-crafted creation. Others will say that it is a fougere that smells old, dated, and unoriginal. The irony of course is that YSL was purposely trying to smell like "the original." And it does smell "old" and "dated." That's the point. When you smell this for the first time, you should and probably will be saying to yourself "Man, this is something my Dad/Grandpa would wear," and you'd be right, though you could probably throw Great-Grandpa and Great-Great Grandpa into the mix and still not be inaccurate. This smells like a barbershop without the shaving cream. Now, Rive Gauche pour Homme (2003), also by YSL, is the go-to barbershop scent around here, and it is a favorite of mine. I also prefer it to Jazz, but once Jazz starts to dry down and that sharpness fades, you will begin to se a lot of similarities between the two, especially with the lavender and geranium notes.

This is a solid fragrance and it does its job well, but like two-tone spectator shoes, it seems out of place today. It's a scent that will have people thinking that you're either hip enough that you can rock the super old-school vibe, or that you're just completely out of touch and wearing something you raided from Grandpa's medicine cabinet when you were cleaning out his house to sell after he died. I rarely wear this, and when I do, it's to enjoy its historical significance and to break the monotony. Don't expect to woo anybody with this unless you're courting history buffs or people who actually were alive during the Hoover administration.

A liver-spotted, arthritic thumbs-up on this one.