Jazz's spring schedule should whet the appetite of anyone with a pulse. In addition to veterans who are never far away for long (the Heath Brothers, Lee Konitz, Elvin Jones, Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Ahmad Jamal, Phil Woods, Ray Brown, Marian McPartland, Ron Carter, and Cecil Payne, for starters) and some who show up less frequently (Art Davis and Dave Burrell are working up a project for the Knitting Factory in late March), jazz's mainstream continues to renew itself. The generation of players that came into focus over the past quarter-century shows undeniable staying power—even if it hasn't produced stars in the conventional sense. What's missing are the titans of the old cutting edge, the (booga! booga! booga!) avant-garde. We need, while it is still feasible, a festival-conference that brings together George Russell, Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Murray, the Art Ensemble, Gunther Schuller, Sam Rivers, Muhal Richard Abrams, Archie Shepp, Roswell Rudd, Evan Parker, and their many descendants who represent the rebel... More >>>