Jazz listening: Is it about the music? Or is it about the sound?

Pesky, that's funny.  I had almost forgotten my first preamp was a Soundcraftsman with full spectrum equalizer.  Had that 4 years and have never had tone controls since.

Americans are prone to binary thinking.

Is it this or that?  This is the reason, not that.  Blah blah blah...

Guess what - jazz lovers love both the music and great recordings.  We don't have to draw some kind of imaginary line between the two.

@coltrane1

Your experience interests me because I grew up learning to play trumpet & baritone.  I dabbled with the french horn but found the mouthpiece tiny and the instrument kind of stubborn.  Never got as far as improvisational jazz though.

But learning music theory changed my life forever.  It informs our listening enjoyment immeasurably and led to one of my life's greatest passions.

Freddie Hubbard's "Sky Dive" was one of my first non-Miles trumpet recordings after college - on CTI.  Yikes, I was captivated.

Freddie Hubbard on CTI: "Red Clay" is really good but "Sky Dive" is my favorite.  I don't have the other two.

MC - the Brits would say if you're aiming at being funny with sarcasm, be subtle.

@mahgister

I agree with most of your post, but...

**** Music like language was never about sound but about meaning.... ****

I think sound is much more important to music than it is to language.  (Unless, of course, one views sound as part of meaning.)  Humans have created some wonderful musical instruments that produce beautiful, intoxicating sounds.

When I listen to someone speak, I rarely focus on the sound of their voice.  I focus on meaning.  Unless their voice is:

strange enough to be distracting, or;

wonderful enough (as with a friend who is a professional voice man for audio books) to be mesmerizing.