How a basement in Queens turned modern pop into vintage jazz
In short: In 2011, pianist Scott Bradlee began filming musical experiments in his Astoria basement. What started as a small group of college friends reworking contemporary hits into swing and jazz has evolved into a global phenomenon, amassing over 2.2 billion YouTube views and touring six continents.
Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ) operates as a rotating musical collective, specializing in reimagining modern hits through the lens of early 20th-century genres. The project's origins trace back to a basement apartment in Queens, New York, where Bradlee began collaborating with friends like bassist Chris Anderson and saxophonist Ben Golder-Novick. While early videos were filmed casually in a living room, the production value has grown significantly over the years.
The collective's rise to viral fame was marked by several key milestones. In 2012, a cover of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis's "Thrift Shop," featuring Robyn Adele Anderson, became the group's first viral video, garnering four million views in its first year. Another major success arrived in 2014 when Kate Davis's 1940s-style rendition of Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass" reached 8 million views in just three months. By April 2022, the group's cover of Radiohead's "Creep," performed by Haley Reinhart, became their most viewed video with over 105 million views.
The scale of the project is immense, featuring 70 different performers and a massive discography that allows for simultaneous tours across North America, Europe, and Australia. The group has even expanded into a talent search through the PMJSearch contest, which has helped launch the careers of various performers. From its beginnings as a small group of friends to its current status as a major YouTube force with 6.4 million subscribers, PMJ has redefined how musical covers can bridge the gap between eras.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Postmodern Jukebox
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