I've played jazz at a lot of weddings and formal events, and in my experience, you're really just background music for those. The people at those highbrow events don't hire you because they like jazz, they just think it's fancy. Hell, their probably more into classic rock and blues. I can only speak from my experience (the Toronto jazz scene) but the actual jazz gigs where jazzers go to listen to the band are just at regular bars around the city, like any other type of music. I think the whole highbrow thing is more of a culturally imposed appearance. And on the flip side, I would actually argue that classic rock and blues are starting to go the way that jazz has, because of all the aging baby boomers with disposable incomes. But there will always be situations where music serves a function (background music, fill the space) and where it is presented as art. It just depends on the venue and who's listening. That being said, the jazz community can be very clique-y sometimes, but there are always exceptions.