[b450]

It's hard to take too much issue with the general argument. Seems like there are loads of examples of theories developed out of "pure" intellectual pursuits that found practical applications later on.

But I quibble with the broad inclusion of "jazz" in the list. I don't really like the idea that jazz is this never-ending process of avant-garde musical boundary pushing. There are these cults of personality around artists like Miles Davis and Coltrane, and at some point people decided that "easy-listening", "smooth jazz", and "elevator music" were the nadir of "cool", but those particular cultural trends don't necessarily define jazz as a whole. It's also reasonable to regard jazz as having a matured musical vocabulary that we can construct accessible tunes out of without pushing boundaries all the time. I suspect a lot more people do enjoy "lounge" jazz than would admit it.