Scene
Jazz
Lead instrument
Extras
Shortcuts (click the picture first): F full screen · Space pause · S jazz on or off · M change the jazz mood · L change the lead instrument · N next scene · ↑↓ more or less snow · C clock · Esc leave full screen. Double-click the picture to go full screen.
🔒 Runs entirely in your browser, and keeps working offline once it has loaded. No account, nothing to install — even the jazz is played live on your device.
How to use it
Press Play the jazz, then Go full screen. The controls fade away after a few seconds and the mouse pointer hides, leaving just the city. Move the mouse or tap the screen to bring the controls back, and press Esc to leave full screen.
Skyline from the river looks across the water at the towers, with their reflections rippling, a suspension bridge strung with lights, aircraft warning lights slowly pulsing and a ferry crossing now and then. Avenue at night puts you at street level, with traffic lights changing, cabs and cars coming and going, neon signs and steam rising from the road. Add snow if you like it wintry.
About the jazz
The music isn’t a recording. A small band is played live in your browser: a walking double bass, ride cymbal and hi-hat (soft brushes for the ballad), electric-piano chords and a lead instrument that improvises now and then: a breathy saxophone, a flute or a vibraphone (or none, for just the rhythm section). It plays common jazz chord changes in a new key each time round, and every bass line, chord rhythm and vibraphone phrase is chosen as it goes, so it never repeats exactly. Pick Ballad for late at night, Easy swing for the background, or Bright when you want a lift, and choose the lead that suits the room. Because it’s generated rather than recorded, there’s no third-party track behind it, and we’re happy for you to play it in a shop, an office or on a stream.
Good places to put it
- A TV at a dinner party or a Christmas in July get-together. Open the page in the TV’s browser, or cast a Chrome tab, and go full screen.
- A shop, café or waiting room, with the jazz on low.
- A stream or a listening party. Press Copy picture-only link and use it as a browser source in OBS. It opens straight into the picture with no buttons or text (press Esc to get back to the page).
- A second monitor while you work, with the jazz quietly underneath.