When Jazz Becomes An Institution

“If the jazz-as-classical-music model is ever to work, jazz musicians will have to find the same sort of balance classical musicians achieve when they deliver a performance that is both true to the score and also a reflection of themselves. And as difficult as that may be when dealing with Beethoven or Mahler, it’s even tougher in jazz, since the soloists are not only expected to play the music properly but to improvise at the level of jazz’s greatest geniuses. It’s a lot to ask.”