“A genius is the one most like himself”: Thelonious Monk’s typically incisive statement is a fascinating lens through which to consider genius in jazz music. Here are three jazz moments that resonate with an astonishing unity of person and performance. Continue reading
Most jazz lovers have had friends ask what it is about this often unapproachable-seeming music that speaks to them. For me it is closely tied to the culture of the standard: Compositions that are only very loosely attached to the artists who created them, instead belonging to a common pool – melodic resources, free-to-use. Continue reading