Jazz and Blues

...

music. This perception is

undoubtedly based on the fact that the average age for audiences at classical concerts has

increased twice as quickly as that of the population as a whole. Nevertheless, research indicates

Moretti 3

that jazz and blues concerts are well attended not only by the young, but by individuals of

retirement age as well. For example, at the EJBF the largest demographic group in attendance

was listeners between the ages of 56-65.

Furthermore, research shows that the listeners at the 2007 EJBF were a discerning group

of listeners, who were attracted to the festival not only by the music, but also by the sociable,

friendly atmosphere of the venues, which gave listeners the opportunity to hear live

performances in close proximity to the musicians. Many of the study’s respondents expressed a

preference for the venues that characterized the festival’s past, as these consisted largely of

smaller, informal venues set in the city’s pubs. Nevertheless, the common factors continue to

connect the past with the present, such as the audience’s focus on the performers’ decisions

regarding improvisation. This research indicates that listeners relate to live jazz and blues

performances by creating associations with their perspectives on familiar styles of music, as they

tended to focus more on the "creative, improvisatory decisions" of the performers than they did

on the performers’ virtuosity. This suggests that jazz and blues create a bond with the listener that

is more extensive and active than it is in regards to listeners of other genres, such as classical

music.

It also seems clear from research, as well as from personal perception, that blues and jazz

continue to engage people at a fundamental level that connects listeners to the music. This

connection mimics the patterns and substances of everyday life, as the blues continue to relate

life’s problems and difficulties while offering surcease to these difficulties through the surcease

inherent in rhythm, the poetry of lyrics and the intricacies of complex harmonies. The blues

Moretti 4

connect musicians and their listeners to the substance of life and jazz interprets this connection

into extraordinary listening experiences.