The Contradictions of Jazz

For scholars and jazz fans, Rinzler (jazz and music theory, Cal Poly State U., San Luis Obispo) examines four pairs of contradictions in jazz--individualism and interconnectedness, assertion and openness, freedom and responsibility, and creativity and tradition--and what they reveal about its aesthetic. He describes how each of these values is expressed, how they contradict each other, and broader meanings relating to concepts of improvisation and composition, phenomenology and experience, existentialism, and perfection. Annotation 穢2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)