AMBIENCE

am·bi·ence variant(s): or am·bi·ance  \ˈam-bē-ən(t)s, ˈäm-bē-än(t)s\

Function: noun  Etymology: French ambiance, from ambiant ambientDate: 1889

: a feeling or mood associated with a particular place, person, or thing : atmosphere

Tonight I heard a live jazz quintet.  I've always known the sound quality is better live than recorded...at least by the best equipment to which I am exposed.   When the musicians are extremely talented, play essentially the same numbers, I began to wonder what are the elements that make one performance more enjoyable than another.  My conclusions were that there are many factors to be considered.,  A dead, talkative and disinterested crowd can spoil it for everyone listening.  The enjoyment of the audience is infectious as is the projection of enjoyment reflected by the musicians themselves.  Lots of musicians are personable but some reflect such charisma and personal pleasure, it also infects the audience.

Variety is important.  Tonight there was variety of tempos, instrument combinations, style of song, occasional added vocals where the lyrics were captivating,   Enthusiastic applause keeps people awake and involved.   Some of these elements cannot be duplicated on a CD as easily.  I will not discuss modern music where pyrotechnics, dancing, gyrations make up much of the performance.  I'm talking about classic jazz...from Louis Armstrong to Gershwin and beyond,

If the venue affords food and smaller rooms where mingling guests and dancing is part of the evening, there is an added fellowship that can't be duplicated unless a group of friends gather around to listen to a CD...which doesn't seem to happen much in our busy society.  Sadly, these performances take place in more expensive restaurants so younger faces are usually not plentiful.  Contrasted to the clubs of the current, young generation, the rarity of beauty in the instrumentals, the audience usually responds to the beat more than lyricism or complexity of melody.  In fact, it fits the stages of life making it clear why music of the young shall always differ from that which seniors enjoy.  Unfortunately, performers on CDs today cannot replicate their performances on stage without technology to gimmick it up.  When you play live, there is no automatic cover up for bloopers.  The visual is lost unless it is a video DVD.

If you really look more closely at both groups, you can readily see, why grandparents, parents, and their offspring will almost never like the same musical entertainment.  We will never like the same things when we are searching for something different than others looking for their groove.  Perhaps I should have said 'rut'.

Now I know why live performances will always have to find a place in my life on occasion.