Charlie "Bird" Parker in the 1940s gave way to the more digestible "cool" sound in the 1950s; John Coltrane's avant-garde saxophone work of the 1960s was followed popular jazz-rock fusion. If the cycle stays true to form, a new crea- tive outburst is now due.
Giddins sees "an astonishing array of talent" in jazz today. But, so far, no leader with the stature of an Armstrong or Coltrane has emerged to lead a breakthrough. Even so, many of today's jazzmen are virtuosos,...