Reviews ranging from the Los Angeles Times and MTV News to countless Twitter raves accentuated the obvious: Esperanza Spalding floored the A-list audience as well as home viewers of the 84th Academy Awards last month with a moving performance of "What a Wonderful World." Her interpretation of Louis Armstrong's 1968 classic during the in memoriam tribute showcased a rising newcomer who shocked the uninitiated a year ago with her Grammy Award win for best new artist.

Spalding's Oscar moment also took advantage of a platform that's a real rarity for jazz artists these days: prime-time network TV. "You can't buy that kind of exposure," Concord Jazz & Classics Group senior V P/label manager Mark Wexler says. "You don't reach that audience on a regular basis doing what we do. It adds credibility, and it says to the world, 'This is an unbelievable talent, so take note.'"

Included as one of eight tracks on the Oscar-centric album, Celebrate the Music, released on iTunes the day after the telecast, Spalding's performance heightened awareness for her new Heads Up International/Concord release, Radio Music Society, due March 20 (see story, page 7). At the same time, it also underscores a major challenge faced by the century-old genre. Receiving a mere fraction of the exposure that pop and country get from radio, TV and retail, how can labels effectively market jazz today? How do fans of bebop, fusion, swing, bossa nova and other subgenres learn about new music by established and emerging jazz artists?

Often the first stop for any genre when launching a new release, radio is no longer a sure thing for jazz enthusiasts. At the start of the new millennium just a decade ago, there were nearly 100 places across the dial in the United States playing various jazz styles--from noncommercial and college outlets to more commercial traditional and smooth jazz stations, according to Allen Kepler, president of radio consultancy Broadcast Architecture. Now, Kepler says, the number of jazz stations across the country is closer to 60.

"The biggest difference today is a lack of both traditional and smooth jazz stations in larger cities with larger populations," he says. "Collectively, jazz had about 7 million listeners around the U.S. with stations in those markets." Contributing to the diminishing numbers: consolidation of station groups, and the perception that various jazz formats--from triple A and R&B to Latin outlets--aren't considered PPM-friendly (Arbitron's Portable People Meter ratings device). This vicious circle has resulted in a ratings drop that, in turn, affects advertiser interest and the stations' bottom line.

The situation doesn't appear related to supply and demand. "Between jazz programs at high schools and at universities, the [number) of jazz musicians is up," Grammy-winning bassist Stanley Clarke says. "Maybe radio owners think jazz stations won't make money. I don't know. But I do know there are more jazz musicians and more jazz records than ever before. I have a funny feeling that, because of the Internet and social media, jazz will find its place."

With...