[gvurrdon]

> It's filled with gatekeepers and judgemental jerks.

That's not been my experience playing jazz around my local area. I've never played jazz in New York but I have heard that all manner of ungentlemanly behaviour goes on in jams there and I suspect I'd be on the receiving end of it if I dared to try. Presumably acceptance of the newcomer is determined by the size of the existing pool of talent. Rural England is not well supplied with jazz musicians of any skill level (or discerning audiences) so we can't really afford to treat them rudely. I'm not really a guitarist, but the last time I played one at a jam it was one of these: https://www.andertons.co.uk/brands/gl-guitars/asat-guitars/g...

[GoofballJones]

It could be the location, for sure. My experiences have been around the Chicago area. Blues jams though were all very welcoming, as were folk and just rock&roll. But jazz was just bad. Hopefully it's changed since then, because this was around 20 years ago.