When the Jazzman's testifyin', a faithless man believes.

Finally I can feel superior to everyone. I have some jazz albums.

I always figured I'd get into jazz at some point. Long the days I resisted this assumption. It wasn't until I started trying to learn piano (yes, "started trying to learn piano" is the perfect construction here) that I really began to listen to music. This sounds so stupid. It wasn't that I wasn't listening before, just that every now and again I would hear something and my brain would chime in with, "It would take me 6,000 hours to learn to play this." I was never so naive to think it was "easy" to play these things, but the staggering breadth of the talent demonstrated inspired me (though I'm sure I'll never be any good at it). This realization opened my mind to new and exciting things, especially solo-type piano performances, of which jazz is amply stocked.

That was the small hurdle. The larger hurdle was the smug uglies demonstrated by jazz afficionados. You like jazz; therefore, you are better than all those who do not like jazz. Agreed. Agreed? Isn't this the vibe you get from jazz people? I had to walk amongst their circles in a previous life. It would be offered, "Roger does not like jazz." I would suggest that it, "wasn't my bag - daddio." Sometimes, that was met with a sigh and a genuine sorrow for what the lad/lass felt I was missing out on. But most often, it was a sneer and a tisk, tisk - an implied admonishment for being so [fucking] stupid. This turned me off to the whole genre for quite a while.

But now I'm turned on. Watch this space for future ostentation.