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Notes -
I think jazz is one of those genres meant to be experienced live, especially given that improvisation is such a core part of it. Listening to recordings doesn't have nearly the same impact.
Counterpoint: You are right, but I think you undersell the value of recordings especially on the subject of jazz.
I got to experience a decent jazz scene in the 80’s and 90’s in Montreal. Montreal has always been a jazz city and the drop in/sit in random player thing was still happening at a club called Biddles. Way better than what NY clubs had become at the time in terms of the casual feel of working musicians meeting up.
Live jazz as it exists today is art music or nostalgia. The vanguard of live avant garde music is probably well past hip hop by now but jazz it is not.
When jazz WAS in its heyday the recording of music was also approaching its pinnacle. Jazz recordings of the 50’s and 60’s were a serious and intentional endeavor, and these recordings as of 2026 ARE the legacy of jazz (since no one wrote it down for one thing).
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