Music and the Creative Spirit:
Innovators in Jazz, Improvisation and the Avant Garde.
Author: Lloyd Peterson
Publisher: Scarecrow Press

In his new book ‘Music and the Creative Spirit’, Lloyd Peterson has taken on an ambitious task. Not only has he given a voice to some of today’s most cutting-edge jazz musicians. Peterson has set out to explore the musician’s creative spirit with the hope of uncovering a common thread among each and every one of the artists.

The result is a compelling book that searches for that consistent creative spark which exists despite the differences in each artist’s relation to their music and their creative process.

Peterson begins by piecing together a collection of personal interviews with the “who’s who” of improvisational jazz. He carefully fashions his questions to shed light on the uniquely individual and creative approaches of artists like Metheny, Dave Holland, Bill Frisell, Fred Frith, Brad Mehldau, Marilyn Crispell, Myra Melford, Evan Parker and John Zorn.

Every time I try to play a note, I just can’t quite seem to get it. I move closer but can never really get it and it’s a constant struggle all of the time. But music has always felt like that. I used to think that there would be a time when it would just become good or that everything would feel wonderful all the time. But that’s not in the nature and there’s always this infinite way to go. But if there weren’t, there wouldn’t be any reason to play anymore. It would be boring. But it can also be frustrating, and it took me awhile to learn what that feeling was. It would seem that it could kind of flip people out to where they would quit playing and never really get there. - Bill Frisell

Unafraid to explore dinner topics, Peterson uses politics, cultural influences, work, society and current events to engage the artists and get them to articulate their unique approach to improvisation and composition.

Education and social services are being cut which are needed to keep ourculture alive, vibrant, and diversified. Consequently, it’s becoming more monochromatic and one-sided rather than the rich mosaic of diversity which this country has always been about with all the people that live in it. - Jack DeJohnette

This book has gone along way to defining a genre that to date has remained indefinable. Within all of the differences, Peterson has succeeded in finding a consistent passion for music, a ferocious work ethic, and a need to explore and evolve.

In his introduction Peterson states that the book was born out of “frustration that some of the most creative and innovative work is not accorded due respect and appreciation in its own time.” This book goes along way to opening up the door for people to better understand the artists, and therefore, to hopefully better understand the music and develop a deeper appreciation from some of the most brilliant musicians creating today.