Contemporary such venues may be found in the basement of larger residential buildings, or as simple storefront locations. They can be rather small compared to other music venues, reflecting the intimate atmosphere of jazz concerts and long term decline in interest in jazz. Despite being called “clubs”, these venues are usually not exclusive.

A similar, though more rapid, evolution occurred with Jazz Bilzen, a solely jazz festival that was inaugurated in 1965 in the Belgian city of Bilzen. The 1966 festival still featured mostly jazz acts. However, by the time of the third festival from August 25–27, 1967, rock and pop acts had edged out most of the jazz bands and become the main attraction.