I was thinking about just the same stuff these days. You describe the way it is. In a symphony orchestra, basically you spend half of your time trying to be a great sound amplifier. It is a great craft, but not such an artistic storytelling job. But anyhow, when you accept the symphony job, you have to provide the (good solid) sound thats needed in the context of the big hall, no artistic excuses possible. The jazz artists focusses on storytelling and let the amps do the sound production job. Or am I missing your point Sonic Soldier is really a nice way to describe it .