The development of jazz in 1920s France, as well as its importation in art music, have often been considered as the development of a new kind of exoticism, in the broad sense of fascination with the “Other.” Such an association of jazz with exoticism tends to downplay the diversity its reception into art music circles in interwar France. This article aims at enhancing this diversity by examining two representative compositions by Darius Milhaud and Jean Wiéner in light of the discourse on exoticism during the interwar. The analysis of these works also draws upon the jazz repertoires which inspired the two composers, and the meanings these repertoires conveyed. Once reconsidered, exoticism provides an interesting tool in order to enlighten a range of uses of jazz in art music. These uses can be distributed between two poles. On the one hand, some composers use jazz in order to construct what will be called “exotic Negro music.” On the other hand, borrowing from jazz features can simply be a way to assert new aesthetics.