It seems to me that we are step away from a disscusion about aestethics in music, and that is time to stop using subjective vs objective terms, because the theme asks for much broader explanations. In doing so we should talk about history of music (jazz at least) and about of evolution of personal, cultural and social values that one needs to comprehend before can give a worthy opinion about the subject. In this case the subject or the question would be to understand what is considered as the 'quality or beauty' of some performerd piece of music, and why do we think or feel so and second, what we consider as 'quality or skill' when we talk about some performing artist. My question to you guys is are you intersted in trying to find consensus on this matter, or shall we just conclude with that latin 'de gustibus non est dispuntadum?
If the answer is positive, let me just start with a qoute that some of you may find appropriate...'Thanks therefore, to what is harmonicus in us, we perceive harmonius composition of sounds, and we delight in them for we understand that we are made in their likeness.Similarity is pleasing, therefore, whereas dissimilarity is odius'.Boethius (480-526) De Musica