All About Jazz’s Kurt Ellenberger writes, “When the music becomes too complex, it no longer functions well as popular music, and the converse is also true— when it gets too simple, it loses its ability to capture and hold the attention of a mass audience.”
This scatter graph (directly below) shows the results of an All About Jazz Readers' Poll that was conducted during portions of 2021. There were almost 400 participants who rated these genres on their "musical and lyrical sophistication" on a 10 point scale. No instructions were given on the definition of "sophistication"—the participants were free to use their own criteria. However, with a jazz audience, "sophistication" is likely viewed as meaning higher levels of complexity in harmony, rhythm, and melody, and of course, more expressive and virtuosic improvisation.
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