i was listening to Solo Dancer - Track A from Mingus and i was going crazy in my seat on the bus just lost in the music.

i was thinking about how back in the day, moreso in the 20's and 30's, the notion of Black musicians being appreciated and respected for their art and music being unique from mainstream European rooted music was a rare thing. someone could argue that the pressure to be accepted as equal or to find respect added motivation for great musicians like Gillepsie and Ellington and even on to greats like Davis and Mingus.

hip-hop had a similar period of being rejected my mainstream press and sensibilities and it could be argued that the best music in its history came out during this time or at least because it was striving to be accepted.

i know jazz has become almost an afterthought since it reached mainstream acceptance. i guess my case erodes some since R&B isn't where jazz is, but with the Black audience becoming more fragmented, R&B defintely isn't where it was 10 years ago and even less like it was 20 years ago.

what do you all think?