> So the country bands were aware of the new style of jazz but most people had never actually heard any and had to play what they imagined jazz to be, mostly based off verbal descriptions.

This I find fascinating. Misunderstandings (i.e. partial or third hand accounts) of ‘exotic’ art forms have played a vital part in the development of western art: Picasso ‘misunderstood’ African art to produce Cubism. William Blake ‘misunderstood’ Michelangelo to produce his etchings. Van Gogh ‘misunderstood’ Japanese prints to produce his paintings.