I agree with you, Matchstikman. Either one gets it (jazz) or not. Most casual listeners - those who have heard various cuts on the radio or in music stores - have no idea how varied the genre is. If there is no predisposition, no immediate emotional identification with the music, most people will not make an attempt to broaden their listening experience. For you, KOB opened the spigot and you began your foray into a unique world of music. For others, it might be Pat Metheny or Ornette Coleman or Von Freeman who opens the floodgates, but they are practitioners whose appeal isn't necessarily universal. I've introduced several people - who didn't care for jazz because they thought jazz was largely freestyle, 'formless' or something dated - by playing recordings by Davis, Getz, or Mingus, and then - if they show an interest - introducing them to the musicians so they might associate the music with pertinents such as socio/political conventions, cultural chronologies and personalities.
The publications and authors listed above go a long way toward providing a foundation to better understand not just the music but the motivations driving the performers. But you're right, if there is no open-minded, sincere interest in the genre no one can be 'converted' to jazz and all the good intentions won't change that.
