Is Modern Jazz an Oxymoron?

I think I'm pretty much in the same boat as you.  The newer jazz I like tends to be done by the older guys in jazz like Chick Corea and Charles Lloyd.  I do like much of the material that Joshua Redman and Christian McBride put out.  Occasionally I will stumble on something new to me like Daniel Carter but he's actually an old guy too.  I like the new material that Bill Frissel and John Scofield put out but they are now old too.  But like you, the vast majority of the time i'm listening to 50s-70s jazz as well.  There is plenty for to still explore in that era that stirs my soul.

3_E_P, All those artist you list I also like. I was trying to make a point and may have been to strict  limiting myself to the 70's because there are a number of latter artist I like but they do all play that early style of improvisational jazz. Ray Brown Trio; Gene Harris Trio; and the ones you listed. Some more modern jazz singers are timeless if they are good so I don't limit them to a period like Carmen McRae, Karrin Allyson and Kurt Elling. 

But todays (post 80's) jazz instrumentalists sound to me to be all about precision and accuracy with a few exceptions, not about improvisation and emotion. Today's jazz musicians sound like classical music players who switched to jazz.

Modern Jazz started a long time ago. Just consider that Coltrane died 53 years ago. When I hear the word modern, I think, NOW, but when it comes to Jazz, ’modern’ started a while back. So, the 50s and 60s were /  was / is Modern Jazz. The current stuff is mostly noise.(imho)

Cheers

Billy Child’s latest. He co leads Ravinia’s RMSI Master Class so he knows his way around ALL jazz. Grammy winner, Monterrey Jazz, Lincoln Center etc.
Besides, Scofield and MSW keep moving forward. Often together.
Among many others.
If you only like vinyl you are stuck listening to a finite conglomeration of "old" stuff.
Over and over.