Running parallel to Jazz music as part of our history and culture, the varieties which the genre offers is a soundtrack to not only time, but to geography. As mentioned above, the piano rolls composed by George Gershwin offer us the sounds of New York City during the second and third decades of the twentieth. Century. Blues music has different tastes depending on where the style originated. St. Louis blues has a distinct sound from that of Chicago blues. New Orleans blues offers something completely different to the ear. With a little time, we as listeners can learn to recognize geography within the notes, chords, and improvisations of Jazz. A particular style of Jazz known as cool Jazz originated in California. This “west coast sound” is something that can be an acquired taste. A big question that will not be addressed here, but is offered as something to ponder, is this: why do some prefer the sounds of west coast jazz over the sounds of Dixieland from New Orleans? It is this variety in sound that helps to make Jazz so interesting to our ears.

     When listening to music, most of us have images in our minds eye produced from the music. The images we see when we close our eyes could be connected to the first time we heard a song; who we were with or where we were when we had this first experience; the music, for sometimes unknown reasons, produce images that are personal to us and may not even take a shape that can be described. For me, hearing Jazz music is aesthetically pleasing not for the mere sounds I am hearing, but for the vivid images that form in my head as I listen. A USO dance at an airfield in England during World War II. The Glenn Miller or Tommy Dorsey Orchestra on stage providing entertainment for those who have no idea what the next weeks, months, or even days may bring. A smoky and sultry club in New York City where the spotlights are on a small stage with a quartet beginning the second set of the evening. An intersection in the French Quarter in New Orleans where three musicians sit on milk crates and produce the most amazing sounds you have ever heard. That is, until you reach the next intersection or go into the next bar where the new sounds somehow top those you just heard. Another part of Jazz aesthetics that enthusiasts find irresistible are the covers of classic albums and the posters advertising upcoming performances. For some, this is simple nostalgia; fortunate others have memories of when these album covers, and posters were brand new. This artform and artwork is a part of their personal history.