For our second music ethnography, we went to B-Sharp's Jazz Cafe to listen to a Jazz Concert. The music was wonderful, and B-Sharp's was the perfect, little spot to have the concert. The quaint, and intimate setting in the little cottage allowed for us as listener to feel like we were involved with the music. It was a great show.
Question Two - James Newman
What role does the venue play in people's [performer, audience, researcher] expectations of the musical performance and how does this particular performance meet or fail to meet those expectations?
B Sharp's is a small venue with mostly seating area and a small space in the corner for the musicians to set up in. It was not exactly what I was expecting, but close enough to say that the performance met expectations. It was a very relaxed environment, making it easy for the audience and the musicians to enjoy themselves.
Question Three- Jen Vogelsang
What is the role of economics?
We entered B-Sharps Jazz cafe into a small foyer where a cash register sat along with a few chairs lining the wall. We had to pay five dollars to enter which was a fair price considering i could tell it was a small business. The drinks and snacks were Smartly overpriced though. Beer and wine was between two and eight dollars. Chips and salsa or hummus was five dollars.Because it was a jazz performance with no dancing or anything but music, people wanted a drink or snack to have something to do while enjoying the music. They would pay anything for this and that is why overpricing was a smart idea.
Question Four - Rebecca Stephens
How does the purpose of the performance overlap and differ from the emotions experienced by the audience?
The musicians wanted us to really like their music and to really get into it which a lot of people did. They did not want us to get out of our seats and dance around like Mustard plug did or anything they just wanted to us to be relaxed and into the groove. No one danced so one could imagine the setting the the ambiance of the place. They mainly just wanted to show off their music and just give us something new to listen to than our everyday music.
Question Five: Sydney Hendricks
Who were the performers and what is their relationship or connection to the audience?
The performers were five different musicians. I believe that they were not actually a band, just a few guys that got together and made an ensemble for the evenings event. There was a pianist, a saxophonist, a stand-up bass player, a trumpet player, and a drummer. They were all very talented and were grooving to their own music. It seemed like maybe a few of the audience members came to B-Sharps because they knew the musicians, but not many. I believe they wanted us to enjoy their music as much as they enjoyed playing it for us. I will say that the entire evening exceeded my expectations, from the location to the music. It was a great experience.