@tyray
It sound like to me you’re just guessing? And you have no clue? I wondering where you live and what live venues you go to see Jazz? Jazz (and blues) is the one music that is our own. It is played all over the US and the world. I don’t care what city you are in, whether it be suburbia or metropolitan areas, there are Jazz clubs all over the US.
Well, yes I was guessing about the extent to which young people listen to jazz and blues, but it was an educated guess based on what I've seen at concerts I've attended. And just to clarify, I never said that there aren't plenty of jazz clubs and concerts, just that by and large young people aren't going to them.
As far as where I live, I'm in the Hartford/New Haven area in CT, and being close to both NY and Boston jazz is fairly accessible. But not nearly to the degree that it used to be 10 or 20 years ago. There are only a handful of smallish jazz clubs left and jazz concerts aren't nearly as frequent as they used to be. The U. of Hartford has an excellent jazz music program that used to be headed by the late great Jackie McLean. They used to have at least one or two concerts there every month featuring recognizable artists, but those have been few and far between since Jackie passed on in 2006....none that I can remember in the last two or three years. When I do have the opportunity to see a jazz artist locally these days, I'd estimate that at least 90% of the audiences are over 50.
Let's face it, jazz has had it's ups and downs in terms of popularity, and right now I'd have to say it's on a downward arc. That's not to say that jazz music itself isn't in a good place - there are many really good, young jazz artists out there these days. We just need more people to go and see them. I think you mentioned the N.O. Jazz Festival as evidence that people still go to see jazz in large numbers. But I've been there a couple of times and of the huge number of acts that play there, probably no more than half of them are jazz. The rest are a mixture of rock, blues, gospel, world music etc. Which is great, but proof of jazz popularity. And I'd add that a sizeable number of people who attend Jazz Fest are there more for the party than the music. Nothing wrong with that either!
