Ah ok thanks, that makes more sense. Turns out you didn't mean and don't believe those things you said - it was meant to represent very commonly-held attitudes/

Ah ok thanks, that makes more sense. Turns out you didn't mean and don't believe those things you said - it was meant to represent very commonly-held attitudes/beliefs in jazz academia that you think are ridiculous, insane etc. But you didn't introduce those "Period" lines by saying that, you just said them. Of course people reading it will think that's what you think, why wouldn't they. It's not much use saying "I'm just stating facts" if you forgot to introduce them with "This is what some people believe". I don't think it's a matter of 'tone'. Saying I'm 'ignoring the context' is just rude, saying I'm deliberately misunderstanding/misinterpreting. There was nothing 'gentle' about your manner, let's be real here. You were coming across like jazz police..because you don't like jazz police, it seems you're saying. And well, you don't mean 'using standards' as a barometer, but using being able to play them in any key as a barometer, if I understand you. Sure, I get the paragraph about sitting in in a club. That sounds fair enough. That would only happen with singers, right? With just instrumentalists, how often would you get asked to play a standard in a non-standard key? (Unless it's a thing to call Stella in E, which it may well be, given what you say.) p.s. Funny story: Herbie Hancock was sitting in at a jam in a coastal town somewhere south of Sydney once in the 1980s, and he called Green Dolphin St in Eb. The bass player said "No, it's in C!" haha. [Real names withheld] edit: I just read your other long post on this page. I have so many problems with what you say there also that I don't think it's worth engaging further. I've found this very unpleasant. Good luck!