Wow, haven't seen a dis of serious music like this in decades. Reminds me of when my mother likened her first hearing of late Coltrane to some kid warming up. Your taste is important, but your evident assumption that generations of musicians are crazy or incompetent needs an imagination & empathy check. Tim Berne is no joker; and if you accept that, your ability to respect other people should prompt some inquiry in to why other people into why they do what they do. You might learn something, as we all do.
Re: “JAZZ FEST 2013, DAY 9: Frank reviews Tim Berne SnakeOil, Amy Lynn and the Gunshow”
a response to whatever: musicians serve both the unheard sound AND the audience, and as liasons, would be condescending to play down to an audience in not bringing something more to the occasion than what an audience already knows or can already do on its own. Nearly everything has more to offer than what a quick hit can take in, not just music -- and what about mystery? That's a condition of encountering more than you already know. It's a projection to assume that musicians have no thought of the audience in mind. What you're calling "alienating" is just the sting of difference.