Great points frogman. Dave Tough was a big band drummer who was adored by bandleaders and fellow musicians for his ability to make a band swing harder than any other drummer around, but whose ability to play a solo was rather limited. Some musicians, in their pursuit of technical prowess, lose sight of the ultimate object, the big picture---making great music. The legendary guitarist Danny Gatton had just hired a new drummer, and after their first set on a live gig, had a talk with him. Danny said to the drummer "You know that fancy sh*t you play? Don't."
Jazz is a music that requires and benefits from players possessing advanced technical ability, and by the late 1960's that ability was becoming more valued amongst Rock players as well. My peers and I had become quite enamored by drummers Mitch Mitchell (Hendrix), Ginger Baker (Cream), and Carmen Appice (Vanilla Fudge), all players with Jazz-level chops. But pure technique for it's own sake was not universally admired or valued. In 1969 I saw The New Buffalo (led by the sole remaining member of The Buffalo Springfield, drummer Dewey Martin) live, and as they played their first few songs I found myself mystified. None of the four band members were playing anything particularly noteworthy (no pun intended ;-), but the band sounded SOOO good. I suddenly, in a flash, came to understand the principle of ensemble playing. Playing for the greater good of the whole---the band, and the song, rather than to simply display technical prowess.