Jazz IS underappreciated in the states. I just finished reading an interview with legendary Latin Jazz artist Jerry Gonzalez where he sez he's been living in Spain for the past 12 yrs due to being able to earn a better living there but more importantly, he feels his art is much better appreciated. This is a scenario, American Jazz artists living abroad, that's existed practically since the advent of Jazz. The U.S. has almost always had it's head up it's butt regarding Jazz. Sadly, in this day of American Idol I believe it's worse than ever before.