Well, first of all, I should probably mention that I’m a mighty whitey myself, but you’re right. “White people” in this context is inflammatory and not altogether fair. It is possible for a white American or European person to be exposed to Latin music at a young age, develop a passion for it, hang out with Latinos and play with them, and end up playing Latin music as well as any of them. An example of this is the keyboardist Jan Hammer, who plays Latin grooves beautifully on Elvin Jones’ release, Mr. Jones, as well as with the excellent fusion band, Stone Alliance.

When I say “white people,” it’s really shorthand for people who come to music from another culture late, as fans, and don’t really develop a feel for it, and yet insist on playing it. It’s kind of like a cook who decides he’s going to cook “Mexican” food and dumps jalapenos and cumin in everything instead of actually doing his or her homework.

What’s really necessary to develop an ability to play someone else’s music is exposure (usually at a young age), empathy, and a lot of hard work. Love is never enough.

I’ll give you an example on the other side of the fence. In Hong Kong movies from the 80s and 90s, the soundtracks often include Chinese versions of hair metal and blues. They are embarrassingly weak because the players have not been sufficiently immersed in the culture, haven’t woodshedded enough, and lack the feel for the music they are playing. In that case, I might write disparagingly about Chinese people trying to sing the blues.

On the other hand, people from other cultures can bring fresh ideas to music, especially jazz. One example I can think of is the live album Joe Henderson In Japan, which features a Japanese rhythm section.

What the “a bunch of white guys sitting around playing latin music” remark boils down to is just a convenient way to disparage people who approach the music in a lazy and/or clueless manner and is meant sort of tongue in cheek. Of course, such a remark leaves me open to being regarded as racist.

That’s okay, though. Guys like you comment to keep me honest, and then I have to explain myself.

Anyway, you bring up a reasonable question. Does culture effect a person’s ability to play a specific style of music? Heck, yeah! It might allow them to bring aspects of their culture to bear on the music that make it more interesting, as in the Japanese rhythm section, or it might inhibit their ability to get into the music. An example of that would be an American trying to play Arabic classical music, which uses a microtonal intonation system. This is not to say that an American couldn’t play Arabic classical music, but an Arab who grew up listening to the music would certainly have a running start.

Oh, one more comment and then I’ll shut up. If I see a country music musician like Mark O’Connor playing with Michael Brecker and other competent jazzers, my first thought is, “How interesting.” I just kind of assume the guy has his act together. But if a bunch of country music musicians decided to put out a funk album or a fusion album, I would be skeptical. It reeks of daytripping. That’s what I thought when I was checking out the list of musicians on Sonando, and it turns out that I was right.