It's hard when your'e strange

The jazzclub was still closed. There was a nasty cold wind and the man with the white saxophone squeezed into the doorway trying to get some respite. He always wore a strange looking woolen hat, a huge overcoat that made him look like a scarecrow and always carried with him, the white altosax. Wherever there was jazzmusic on offer, there he was. A solofigure in clothes too big, and an instrument as his devoted companion. I got used to seeing him in the club, sitting quietly in the front, listening, sometimes smiling, always rocking in time with the music.
 Most of the musicians who played at the club seemed to know him, they often would give him a friendly pat on the shoulder, whisper a quiet word in his ear which would make him smile. I never saw him drink anything but water, I never saw him drunk or "high", he was always an island unto himself, always alone. The club was often very busy so as a barmanager I seldom had time to sit down and chat with people, besides I was very young and bad at chitchatting, however, this quiet, unassuming man got to me...I needed to know more about him.
Most of my life I have been a sort of "outcast", I've never seemed to fit in anywhere and my love of jazz; a love affair that virtually began at birth, didn't really work in my favour when everyone else was listening to rock music. This man seemed to me as if he also fitted in to the outcast category which made me wonder what the criteria may be for being accepted in the "in-cast". Agreeableness? Conformity? Extroversion? Good self-esteem? Play well with others? Hmmm.
I have to admit that I didn't feel comfortable around him, I didn't know how start a conversation and I was unsure of how he would respond if I did start to speak to him. Could it be that we feel more comfortable with people who behave and respond in a for us predictable manner and so to be included by the "in-cast" could mean behaving according to a particular set of rules, acceptable and confirmed by the members of the "in-cast"?
Us humans seem to need to be part of a group, we need to belong, yet we simultaneously desire autonomy. Being accepted by our peers validates us, being rejected hurts us.
Could it be possible to belong and still remain autonomous? The man with the white saxophone seemed to be able to do so, because the musicians treated him as one of them, yet I never saw him play with them. I was told by one of the muso's that he came from a very wealthy family and that they supported him financially. He knew everything about jazz, knew everybody who played it, and went to all the jazz festivals in Europe, basically Jazzmusic was his life. His passion and committment to the music gave him a pass to the "in-cast", although strictly speaking, he didn't follow the rules. Maybe it's ok to be both a team-player and an individual, maybe it's ok to conform but keep bits of strangeness, maybe it's ok to be agreeable but not sell out your integrity, maybe it's ok to not be accepted by everyone, as long as you accept you.
Sidenote:
What was the name of the man with the white altosax? Well, it doesent really matter, besides, it's in swedish and doesn't translate well into english, so how about: ........ Mr Jazz......