Repertory can be a fraught subject in jazz. Obviously, there are artists whose compositions have become standards, re-interpreted by artist after artist over the decades. But at the same time, there's the constant pressure to be creative, and if you must work with other people's music, to interpret it in such a way that your individual voice is of primary importance. There's a real divide: the AACM insists that its members write their own music and be more than mere interpreters, while some artists seem to make their entire careers out of playing standards. For the record, I'm generally against performing the most obvious standards at this point. It's 2018. How many more versions of "Autumn Leaves" or "What Is This Thing Called Love?" does the world need, anyway?
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Ugly Beauty: The Month In Jazz – May 2018
