Technophassa

I'm definitely interested in checking out the jazz combo's group on Thursday night, first to see what all is played and the variety that will undoubtedly be showcased, but second to see the reactions of the rest of the audience. I think it's fair to say that many types of music are birthed from improvisation or thinking (playing) outside the box, such as jazz. It's interesting to me that once these new genres and styles of music are established, they then tend to become rigid in their definitions of what is and isn't classified as part of that experience. This could range from saying that something that the jazz combo plays is not jazz because it lacks a classic jazz form, to saying that if something doesn't have melody, it's not music. At the same time, as I'm sure the jazz combo has found, it can be extremely hard to play together in an effective manner without the imposed rules of certain genres, styles, tempo, meter, etc, let alone in a way that is appealing for others to listen to, experience, and relate to. Is there a right way? How open should our minds be when it comes to trying to define something as music?