I started playing country music at the end of the sixties/beginning of the 70's, with a number of older musicians who had come up from the South. You will be surprised to know, as I was at the time, that these guys often considered themselves to be jazz musicians. Most had played what has been labelled "country music" since before the war--and they played it all.

And here's a quote, direct from the father of bluegrass himself, Bill Monroe, lifted from this websitehttp://www.balboafeet.com/articles/billmonroe.php --

"It's got a hard drive to it. It's Scotch bagpipes and old-time fiddling.... It's blues and jazz, and it has a high lonesome sound. It's plain music that tells a story. It's played from my heart to your heart, and it will touch you."

You can believe him, or not.