Hi norman,
First, if you haven't already done so, I'd recommend reading the VIEWSTAMP analysis for this passage, which can be found here:
viewtopic.php?f=1523&t=38991
One crucial point to understanding this passage (and to answering question 17) is realizing that most of the passage is describing the typical/traditional viewpoint of how bebop began,
not the author's viewpoint. The author's viewpoint, which actually disagrees with the typical/traditional viewpoint, appears in the final paragraph.
Since question 17 asks what the author would most likely agree with about the originators of bebop, you should return to the final paragraph for the relevant information. Specifically, the author writes, "for the musicians who originated bebop, mass-market capitalism was not a prison ..., but a system of transactions defining music as a profession, thereby making their achievements possible."
This statement provides direct support for Answer C. (Note that the word "commercialism" in Answer C is basically a synonym for capitalism.) This also gets at the main point of the passage, which is that the traditional accounts of bebop's origin misrepresent the musicians relationship with commercialism. (The traditional accounts indicated that the creators of bebop were trying to escape commericalism, but the author believes that they embraced it as an important element of the profession.)
The problem with Answer B is that it is expressing the wrong viewpoint. This answer expresses the typical/traditional viewpoint, with which the author actually disagrees.
The third paragraph of the passage describes the theory of the typical/traditional accounts. The passage states, "
In this version of jazz history there is an implicit teleology to the progression from early jazz through swing to bebop: the gradual shedding of jazz’s associations with dance, popular song, and entertainment" (my emphasis). While this sentence is expressing an idea similar to that expressed in Answer B, this is not the author's view. The author is clear to note that this is what the theory says, not what the author says. Earlier in the paragraph, the author uses the phrases, "these writers believe" and "the theory goes" to clarify that this is not the author's theory or viewpoint.
As a final note, tracking the different viewpoints in a passage is one of the most important elements to track while reading the passage and represents the "VIEW" in our VIEWSTAMP analysis. This passage provides a great example of how important it is to track and compare/contrast the author's viewpoint with the typical/traditional viewpoint.
