the recent music snobs got me to thinking...
at what point did jazz become something seperate than pop.

i had always viewed jazz and rock and roll as two seperate
branches of music, and each one split off into different branches.

but duke ellington doesn't sound much like
weather report, and miles and cannonball aderly.
what's more, what i think of as jazz laid some of the foundations for funk.
(again, the music snobs pointed out that "so what" and "cold sweat" were similar
grooves... which blew my mind for some reason).

then i realized that most of my favorite music from the 60s came
from musicians that played jazz too (funk bros, p-funk)
and that jazz, although not the sound of young america anymore...
was still very much present. even early EWF albums were heavy on jazz,
and the later ones could be fusion albums if it wasnt for the vocals.)



so here's my question.
is the term jazz just a marketing gimmick?
even more troubling... was it just a word used to marginalize black music (and black ppl?).

i always thought jazz was just an approach ppl had to songwriting and playing.
but now, i'm wondering if it's just another word for "music by and for jungle bunnies."
and i always thought it was somehow seperate from pop.
but now, i'm realizing that might be a misconception as well.



please help.