THIS ISSUE: Three recent piano albums refract American Standards into new patterns.
The curse of composition
Something has happened in jazz culture in the new millennium. There is more emphasis on original composition than ever before. There has been remarkably little discussion and analysis of this phenomenon, perhaps because many assume it is a positive development. Jazz, after all, prioritizes originality.
There is a counterargument. It goes like this: Jazz today is vital and dynamic because great players keep popping up, all over the world. Very few
