In each interview I learned things I didn't know before, which is, I suppose, the point. I spoke to Dave Brubeck, who is appearing this weekend with the Cincinnati Pops. We're old friends. Brubeck was one of the innovators of a style called ''West Coast Jazz,'' which some thought of as a more cerebral approach to the great American music form. It was clear that, through at least the first half of the 20th century, jazz was the primary influence in other forms of music, including popular and classical.
Jazz is universal.
You can't see a movie, you can't catch a commercial without hearing jazz. Rock is affected. Look at the instrumentation of today's country groups. Country music never had drums. We didn't talk just music.