I finally understand!

I think it's been over twenty years, but I finally understand. Jazz is not something that should be experience passively, like listening to a CD without the context. It's meant to be heard live, when you're so close to the performers you can drop some bills in the hat and ask for a request, while they're still playing and no one else can hear you. It's music that you are a participant in, your enjoyment feeds back to the band and it makes you feel good.

That was my experience today, and my personal understanding what it is that I was missing about jazz which before now I've never really liked to listen to. I went out to dinner today with some of the people from the conference, and it was brought up that they were probably going to a jazz club afterwards. I figured I could go to dinner and then go my own way, but at dinner it was brought up that it was Preservation Hall that was being referred to. The only thing I could remember about that name (as I did have a memory associated with it) is that my mom would love to go there or hear the music there (or both). So I went. We got there around 7:20 and were first in line - the doors open at 8pm, it's 10$ to get in, and there's literally about 8 benches and some chairs around the edge of the room, and after that you can stand. No food, drinks etc are served there, and it's a very small space. It was a perfect venue for the music.

Thursday night is brass band night, and the group playing was the New Birth Brass Band. They were excellent the entire night, taking two breaks and playing for about three hours. They had a banjo, bass drum, snare drum, tuba, trombone, trumpet and sax, and all of them were excellent.

There were two things that stood out among the performances: the first was a request, by a couple who were celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary - Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World. The entire audience helped sing along while the couple held hands and the band played it for them. The second was something I noticed the entire night: there were many young ones there, babies and very young kids of tourist parents. The babies were super calm and appeared to love the music, and the same for the kids. What a neat experience for them, and what a relief compared to the craziness that is bourbon street.