John, if I misunderstood you or mis-interpreted you, then I apologize. It's just that in my experience, when you attribute 'special powers' or special gifts to a specific group, it becomes the birthplace of stereotyping....and we know where that leads. I acknowledged that being born into a culture is probably going to give you a leg up on most aspects of that culture, but that doesn't mean to the exclusion of everyone else. Could Ray Charles sing C&W ('I can't stop loving you')? Could Joe Cocker or Janis Joplin sing the blues? Could Jimi Hendrix play Rock guitar? Appropriated? Maybe, but they still did it well. Didn't your own experience with your sax player prove my point? My own theory is, if you really like it and, more importantly, REALLY FEEL IT, you can play it.....well!

Mark gets upset when someone changes the direction of his posts so I won't say anymore about this. I just don't like the idea of someone assuming that I can 'sing and dance' just because I'm Black; and it's sort of the flip side of the same coin (for the record, I can't do either ). Take care, ol' man, I love discussing things with old musicians (ask Russ ).

chas