“I believe that all people are in possession of what might be called a universal musical mind”. These words from the musician Bill Evans present an idea analogous to Noam Chomsky’s “universal grammar theory” in linguistics. At least, we could recognize the existence of a human “universal aesthetic mind”. As Western societies today are experiencing widespread changes due to globalization, migration, modernization, and rapid digitalization, it is crucial to strengthen interethnic bonds. Moreover, the quest for peaceful coexistence and strong intercultural relations in modern multicultural societies is a prominent political priority in the West today. Music provides communicative possibilities between listeners and gives a basis for common attention and experiences of deep emotional involvement and intimacy. This could terminologically be related to both empathic affordances and social bonding, as well as cohesion. Could artistic creations in the form of organized sound (music) in various forms contribute to the facilitation of ethnocultural empathy? Jazz already represents a cosmopolitical reality through its origins and synthesis, while film music probably is one of the most common forms of musical consumption today. Furthermore, film music could be considered as a contemporary classical and universal artistic tradition appearing in multimedia contexts. The article investigates and discusses whether ethnocultural empathy already is aestheticized and institutionalized in the great worldwide “databases” of jazz (history) and film music. Finally, two musical examples serve as an illustration of how jazz and film music could contribute to ethnocultural empathy.
