The allure of the big

For New Year's I went to this somewhat posh place in Brussels because an acquaintance was in the band playing there. After the gig, he commented (after playing a couple of jazz sets early in the evening, then switching to pop/soul/funk/rock covers):

Playing jazz is cool, but making people dance is the best feeling

As much as jazz fans pride themselves on the intimacy of clubs, their heightened listening opportunities (in reality often marred by poor acoustics/sound systems/sound-checks), I'm strongly tempted to agree.

In this All About Jazz Q&A with Saxophonist Eric Person he comments on something similar, drawn from his days playing with Ben Harper:

Another thing I dug was playing the big halls before thousands of screaming fans. The crowds enthusiasm is so unlike anything in jazz, it's a very fresh vibe. In Paris at Le Zenith, we played before 7,000 fans. Not 7,000 people there to hear some music, but 7,000 fans there to see us! They have the CD's, they know the lyrics, they are going to the website putting messages up on how much they dug the gig. They are trading tapes. It's something that is very special and real for them, because it's touched them in some way. That's what I want for my music. Multitudes digging my music.

See, the vibe around jazz can be depressing. Little clubs, no dressing rooms, that hand-to-mouth vibe, elitist snobs, lack of money and opportunities. It's a different scene. With Ben Harper I learned how important the visual element is. Whether its the look of the CD cover, or the clothes an artist wears on the gig. It sets up an atmosphere to bring people in. And that's the point.

Another point is that, despite the romantic image of the tortured artist producing artefacts of astounding beauty while living the hard-scrabble life, few people actually enjoy being poor. Especially when you're working hard at thankless tasks such as practicing scales or studying chords for several hours a day.