In his blog, About Last Night, Terry Teachout quotes Whitney Balliett’s incomparable tribute to the ability of most jazz musicians to maintain their unbreakable spirit despite being cold-shouldered by the culture.
Whatever the reasons, these musicians form a heroic legion. They work long hours in seedy and/or pretentious places for minimum money. They make sporadic recordings on unknown labels. They play for benefits but are refused loans at the bank. They pass their lives pumping up their egos.
To read the whole thing go here. It reminded me of the story about a conversation between a musician and a person from the ranks of what Woody Herman called civilians.
Civilian: What made you decide to become a jazz musician?
Musician: I dislike crowds.