I think that we learn music much the same way that we learn language. When we learn language, we learn more than just words. We learn speech patterns and melodies, ideas, and culture. As we make a language a part of ourselves and begin to express ourselves in it, we become part of the idiom of that language. It becomes part of us, and we part of it.
Same for music. If our music of choice is traditional music, it becomes our musical style. If we write music, it's likely to come out in a "traditional" style. "Traditional" is our musical language. Therefore, I think it's very natural that Jay Ungar and others would produce music that soungs traditional - that's their language. They're not copying another style. They're expressing themselves in the style that is their own.
-Joe Offer-