Arguably, no artist grows up: If he sheds the perceptions of childhood, he ceases being an artist.
-Composer Ned Rorem
Art is a means of human exchange, not an end.
-Composer Modest Mussorgsky
Tonight was the opening night of the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, with a concert by the Columbus Jazz Orchestra. The walk through Vail Village was gorgeous and summery and a reminder of how un-affordable Vail must be in the winter; restaurants with half-price menus still have entrees around $20 or $30.
The jazz performance was amazing – and as a rule I hate jazz. The musicians (mostly white, older men; I counted four black men and one woman) were so obviously enjoying themselves, it didn’t seem like they were performing for the crowd at all. They were playing a game with each other and the hundreds of people in the audience just happened to have walked in on the performance.
The crowd was composed primarily of – let’s say elderly people. They were certainly over the hill, anyway. Whether that is because elderly people like jazz more, or they are the only people in the valley who can afford concert tickets (around $60), or a combination of the two, is up for debate.
