Put Jazz On Your List For A Well-Being Lift

Did you know that listening to jazz music can bring a wealth of benefits which include lowering stress levels and blood pressure and boosting our mental and physical well-being?

Additional bonuses result in the vibes stimulating our brain - which in turn can increase creativity, lower depression and lighten our mood.

For an upbeat, memorable flavour of live jazz that can be enjoyed in the UK and across the pond, Our Time for Life Correspondent, Sharon Cain, transports us to Chicago and, nearer to home, Yorkshire’s Burton Agnes Jazz & Blues Festival.

City of Legends

A long-standing tour de force in Chicago - with its jaw-dropping skyline - jazz has been indelibly etched in the Windy City’s DNA.

While originating in New Orleans - an absolutely must if you haven’t been, Chicago’s jazz legacy stemmed from a major migration of African Americans who headed here from the south in the early 1920s .

Classic icons made famous in Chicago include Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole and Ol Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra, who proudly extolled its virtues in My Kind of Town.

Venturing Into The Depths of Downtown

Deciding which jazz venue to sample on the last night of a five-day trip in Chicago - before flying to Washington the next day - was agonising.

Did we venture to a venue where famous gangsters such as Al Capone and his mob used to hang out, book an upmarket restaurant with accompanying jazz, select a formal, theatre-style setting with conversation banned during sets - or go for a gutsy, no frills experience?
You guessed right. We opted for Rosa’s Lounge, hailed by USA Today as the ‘Best nightlife, Jazz and Blues Club.’

Getting there was quite a feat. Two buses and a walk later in the depths of downtown Chicago, we had arrived. With a sinking heart I wondered if this was an adventure too far as part of the building looked boarded up and distinctly shut.

We gave the door an enormous push into a dimly lit and very welcoming down-to-earth bar and our misgivings vanished.

‘Wow’ Factor In Spades

High octane: Morry Sochat and The Special 20’s

The vibes and bar staff were great, drinks were cheaper than the UK - let alone the US - and we settled down and waited for the fabulously talented blues supremos, Texan born Morry Sochat and The Special 20’s.

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Influenced by the Chicago greats, their storming, high-energy, formula of singing (Morry is a powerful baritone), harmonica and knockout tap dancing blends Chicago Blues with Swing and 1950s Rock N’ Roll.

In step with the audience: Morry Sochat

A tip - Rosa’s doesn’t sell food but encourages visitors to order the most amazing (in taste and price) authentic Chicago pizzas from a few doors up the road and devour them on the premises. We left buzzing and a reasonably priced Uber delivered us safely home.

Rosa’s Lounge was the perfect finale to our full-on, Chicago adventure of music, art, architecture and theatre. We were lucky to grab the last tickets at The John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center where Richard Thomas, famous for his role as John-Boy in The Waltons, took the audience by storm as Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mocking Bird.

Downtown to Upmarket

You don’t have to fly thousands of miles for a feelgood factor boost from great jazz.

If a festival with a stunning setting sounds up your street, look no further than the elegant Elizabethan backdrop of Burton Agnes Hall in Driffield, East Yorkshire.

Its annual, three day, Jazz & Blues festival, hosted by the Hall’s affable custodian and talented saxophonist Simon Cunliffe-Lister and his family, is rated as among the UK’s best.

Passionate about making jazz accessible to everyone, Simon launched the festival in 2007 and opened up his home to the public.

The sessions, a showcase for international performers and aspiring new talent, blow away the hundreds of festival goers who camp in the grounds and indulge in a picnic fest and a late night boogie in the beer tent.

Powerful Presence

Headline acts blowing jazz lovers’ socks off across 2023-2024 saw the highly acclaimed Errol Linton, whose career has spanned three decades as a singer, songwriter and harmonica player.

A busker on streets of London, Errol was spotted by a BBC producer who made a documentary about him. Since then the Brixton-born artist has collaborated with musical greats including Bo Diddley and Screaming Jay Hawkins, releasing numerous albums.

Jazz is so compelling because it is unique, thought-provoking and in a class of its own - not forgetting its raft of well-being benefits.

Sister Cookie, a composer and self-taught pianist whose heartfelt compositions are raw and heart rending was also sensational.

With roots in Lagos and a home in London, Sister Cookie’s powerful vocals, are inspired by icons such as Eartha Kitt and Nina Simone. Her band serves up a unique blend of jazz, rhythm & blues, rock 'n roll and soul.

Acoustic Guitar Supremos

The festival boasts jazz of every genre including returning favourites Bolivian Carlos Olmos and Londoner Matt Smith, an acoustic guitarist duo.

From gypsy jazz to blues, their rendering of soul, funk, jazz, and blues from a Latin American perspective is chilled and extremely enjoyable.

Rip Roaring

Regular crowd pleasers include the multi-talented Ben Beattie - saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, session musician and his After Midnight Band renowned for the genre of smoky Jazz found in a Chicago basement in the early hours.

This year, to my delight, their performance paid tribute to the artists of Chicago’s ‘Chess Records’ - a legendary US record company founded in Chicago in 1950 specialising in rhythm and blues.

His gig celebrated artists including Etta James, Ramsey Lewis, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker, The Rolling Stones, Fontella Bass and Howlin' Wolf.

Unique and Addictive

As a music genre, jazz is based on improvisation with no stringent rules to restrict the emotional ebb and flow of musicians’ self-expression. It lifts audiences to the highest heights, provoking tears of laughter and joy.

Jazz is so compelling because it is unique, thought-provoking and in a class of its own - not forgetting its raft of well-being benefits.

The late Art Blakey, one of the most influential jazz drummers and bandleaders in history, was spot on when he famously said: “Jazz washes away the dust of everyday life”.

Why not delve into this inclusive, magical world and see where it takes you?

To find out more about jazz festivals in your area, visit Top Jazz/Blues Festivals 2024 | The Festival Calendar. Tickets are on sale for the 18th Burton Agnes Jazz & Blues Festival. For more information see Buy Burton Agnes Jazz & Blues Festival 2025 Tickets online - Burton Agnes Hall & Gardens (digitickets.co.uk)