Good music and good food – a heavenly match

With the approach of our two October jazz fests, the time has arrived when my appreciation for our local eateries is coupled with my love of music. Over three decades, the Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival has grown into blockbuster events staged at spacious venues – complete with online tickets, professional sound and lighting, and tight schedules. It runs in the same time frame as the True Blue Jazz Festival, where many of the headliners perform alongside our local student prodigies. Both festivals offer something for everyone.

And our restaurants love getting into the act. The combination of food and live music is and always has been pitch-perfect. Over the last few years, I’ve had the honor of providing a bit of live music at some of those restaurants, and I’m here to tell you, one of the most difficult things for almost any band is creating a song list that matches the ambiance, the clientele and the menu of the host restaurant. The stark fact is that musicians are hired to improve the dining experience, i.e., the bottom line.

Pairing music and food is an art and a science. A good example is TurntableKitchen.com, a well-designed blog that shares recipes and reviews of selected songs. Every month, the writers on the site create a Monthly Pairings Box that includes menu ideas and ingredients alongside suggestions for musical pairings. Sort of like wine pairings, but without the morning-after Advil.

We are lucky to have so much great music in the area. From quiet piano musings to blues to country, hard rock, classic rock and bluegrass, the performers tailor their sets to please the guests. But some of that responsibility also lies with the restaurant: A band that specializes in heavy metal rock might not be the ideal one for Cultured Pearl. And lilting cocktail music with a smoky chanteuse perched on a grand piano probably won’t go over very well at Conch Island. A set list for 1776 Steakhouse will bear little resemblance to that of, say, Hammerheads Dockside.

This correlation has been proven in scientific studies (believe it or not) including those at Oxford University’s Crossmodal Research Laboratory, where the relationships between the perception of taste and certain audible frequencies (known as pitch) are compared. In short, sounds of a higher frequency (like a piccolo or a cymbal) seem to be related to foods with a sweet or sour taste. Low-frequency notes (a bass guitar or organ) have been tied to savory tastes generally referred to as umami. So, can the music accompanying a meal actually change the taste of that meal? Research is ongoing. (Of course, I’m unselfishly doing my part ...)

Jazz fest season isn’t the only time to venture out for some tunes. Local live music is a way of life at Bethany Blues, 1776 Steakhouse, Café Azafran, Conch Island, Rehoboth Ale House, Big Chill Surf Cantina, Irish Eyes (both Lewes and Milton), Dogfish Head, Victoria’s, Crooked Hammock, The Starboard, Bluecoast Rehoboth and Thompson Island. The same applies to The Cultured Pearl, Hammerheads Dockside, Coastal Taproom, 302 The Local, Blue Moon, Grain on the Rocks, The Pines, Zogg’s, Bushels, Wheelhouse and even Mulligan’s Pointe in Georgetown. Just to name a few.

Add an audio track to your dining experience by keeping an eye on the Cape Gazette Steppin’ Out section and the various restaurants’ websites.