The artform of jazz,

capable of expressing an infinite number of things by an unbounded variety of artists, is one of the greatest innovations of artistic expression in human history. 

An improvised art form, it is an artform created in the moment, always an expression of the here and now. 

Whether a jazz musician is blowing over changes of a tune written in the early twentieth century, a newly composed work, or playing free, a jazz performance is one that could only be done by that or those particular individual(s), in that moment, informed by the lives they have lead; the music they have listened to, the time and place they live in, the space they are in and every other aspect of the who, when and where of their collective creation.
This gives jazz an immediacy and breadth which exist in few other art forms, and it means that, when done right, any work of jazz is always a new creation, of the moment, that has never and will never be experienced again, making every jazz performance a special and one-of-a-kind event.

Beyond these attributes, the other thing I love about jazz is its expressiveness.
When I first heard Charlie Parker, I felt it had the edge, energy, and unbridled self-expression of the punk and rock I was listening to, and the sophistication of a 20th century symphonic work. The ability to create a complex and reasoned work without losing the individual expression of each musician is a wonderous thing.  This individualistic expressionism is something I consider to be very important, and I have made it a central tenant of my work.

Jazz music is a deep, immediate and ephemeral act of human expression, a collective creation informed by lifetimes of human experience, created in and of a single moment of time.
At its best, it is an experience like no other.