Utah Jazz logo

The history behind the Utah Jazz logo and overall name of the team is among the most curious ones in the whole association. Originally founded in the heart of Jazz music, New Orleans, the team dedicated its name to the jazzmen culture and retained its origins even after it was relocated in Salt Lake City just several years later.

Although the franchise has had six logos in its 45-year history, there have been only two designs that underwent many color changes. It is curious that after two decades with an entirely different emblem, the franchise returned to its original logo in 2015 and we doubt that it will change in the following few years.

Original New Orleans Jazz Logo (1975 – 1979)

As the team was founded in the epicenter of jazz music, it was only logical that it would take some of the local culture and incorporate it into its concept. Besides the name, the original logo that the team also uses today (with certain obvious changes) also had a connection to music through the first letter “J”. Instead of using the normal letter, the creators incorporated the eight musical note but also drew a basketball in its base circle.

The entire original logo was in purple which is an iconic color for the team apart from the basketball and the black inscription of the original team location – New Orleans.

Second Logo (1980 – 1996)

Since the decision to relocate the entire franchise in Salt Lake City, Utah was so sudden, the owners did not receive permission to rebrand the entire franchise. This lead to the decision to only change the location in the logo.

With this said, the new logo was entirely identical and the only change was the name of the state above the word “Jazz”.

Third Logo – a completely new concept (1997 – 2004)

Although the newly introduced logo in 1997 had zero similarities with the old version, the concept was once again related to jazz music. Overall, Utah Jazz is a beautiful example of a franchise that values its origins.

Even though Salt Lake City did not even have a jazz scene, the brand new logo also had an inverted letter “J”. This time, it represented a saxophone instead of the eight musical note from the previous design.

Behind the word “Jazz”, the creators added a mountain range in the shape of a basketball with several mountain peaks. It is curious that the iconic purple color was replaced by a different shade beside the new addition of blue and brown.

Fourth Logo – a new color palette (2005 – 2010)

A new change occurred less than a decade after Utah Jazz had their logo re-designed. This time, the only change included a brand new color palette. It is safe to say that this version of the logo was the simplest and most inconspicuous.

The new design had the basketball and mountains inside it in purple while all other sections of the logo were in white and different shades of blue. Not that it wasn’t a good-looking combination of colors but it lost its vibrant appearance.

Fifth Logo – back to basics (2010 – 2015)

The whole endeavor with the weird color palette in blue and purple lasted about 4 – 5 years before the franchise decided to go bring back the old colors. The logo design remained the same but the colors were changed to dark blue, green, and golden.

Modern-day Logo (2015 – Present)

Whatever the times may be, it is never a bad thing to bring back a piece of history and embrace it. In 2015, Utah Jazz presented their latest logo or more specifically, the same logo design used in the founding days of the franchise.

We witnessed the return of the eight musical note and the simple and clean design that in all honesty, matches the team better than anything else does. The few changes included the replacement of the original dark purple tone with dark blue and the addition of green lines that further make the blue letters stand out.