The new players of the 1990’s, on thernother hand, possess Httle sense of lyricalrncomposition, turning out derivative garden-rnvariety hard-bop numbers writtenrnfrom chord changes without regard forrnmelody and harmony and often played inrnthe same up-tempo 4/4 meter, thereby illustrahngrnthe old insiders’ joke that therntwo scariest words in jazz are “originalrnmaterial.” Even when they lend themselvesrnto the occasional well-constructedrnsolo, these pieces are formulaic and instantlyrnforgettable, doing little to enrichrnthe musical thesaurus. As musician andrnwriter Eric Felten commented recentlyrnin the Wall Street ]oumal, “most jazz musiciansrnlook at the melody as somethingrnto be raced through to establish thernchordal structure that will underpin thernmore important business of improvisation.”rnVeteran critic Nat Hentoff disagreedrnwith Felton on the importance ofrnmelody in today’s jazz, but Felten’srnpoints about chord structure are valid.rnAnd although it is easy to understand therndesire of newcomers to be thought of asrncomposers who play their own material,rnthis cookie-cutter approach to creation,rnrecycling pale imitations of much thatrnwas recorded and played in the past, is arndisservice to music and performer alike.rnAn art form must perpetually renew itselfrnif it is to remain vital. This is true ofrnliterature, of art, of drama—and of jazz.rnAs painting evolved in the late 19th centuryrnfrom Impressionism through Post-rnImpressionism and Fauvism to otherrnforms and styles, it brought with it newrnphilosophies, new approaches, and newrnindividuals who created lasting treasures.rnThe same had been true of jazz until thernlast 20 years.rnBenny Golson has pointed out that herncomposes from melody, while HoracernSilver, when asked years ago whether hernwould prefer to play or compose, statedrnunequivocally his fondness for composition.rnIn fact, the most distinctive jazzrncomposers have usually been peoplernwhose basic creative urges led them inrnthat direction, even if they were also excellentrninstrumentalists. Today, whenrnsuch jazz classics as Silver’s “Song ForrnMy Father” and Ellington’s “Satin Doll,”rnto say nothing of standards such as “AutumnrnLeaves” and “The Man I Love,”rnhave been played nearly to death, whatrnthe jazz community needs is a new grouprnof mavericks such as Monk and Mingus,rnor highly articulate musical philosophersrnsuch as Ellington, each moving to thernbeat of his own internal drummer. Theyrnare probably, even now, working in obscurityrnsomewhere, hoping to be heard,rnand the elders of jazz would be wise tornseek them out and listen carefully tornthem. Interesting occasional compositionsrnby other musicians will always bernwelcome, but nothing beats a sustainedrnpersonal vision, and that is somethingrnjazz as an art form desperately needs asrnthe 21st centur)’ arrives.rnTony Outhwaite is a literary agent inrnNew York Citv.rnVIDEOrnA SouthernrnBraveheartrnby H. Arthur Scott TrashrnRide With the DevilrnProduced by Ted Hope, Robert F.rnColesberry, and ]ames SchamurnDirected by Aug LeernScreenplay by ]ames SchamusrnReleased by Universal Picturesrnand Good MachinernIt can be argued that the War Betweenrnthe States began not at Fort Sumterrnbut along the Missouri-Kansas border inrnthe mid-1850’s. The passage of thernKansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 meant thatrnthe future of slavery in the territoriesrnwould be decided by the majority of settlers.rnSen. Stephen Douglas of Illinoisrnand the other supporters of this act believedrnthat they had crafted a measure ofrnsectional compromise. They expectedrnthat Kansas, being contiguous to Missouri,rnwould be setried by Southernersrnand that Nebraska, being contiguous tornIowa, would be settled by Northerners.rnHowever, anti-slavery radicals from NewrnEngland and the Midwest were determinedrnthat no more slave states shouldrnenter the union. They immediately beganrnsending settlers and rifles to Kansasrnin an effort to make it a free state. Sporadicrnwarfare soon broke out between anti-rnslavery and pro-slavery settlers. Whenrnthe former prevailed by sheer force ofrnnumbers, Kansas was admitted to thernunion as a free state in 1860. The victoriousrnJayhawkers soon began raiding intornMissouri for the ostensible purpose ofrnfreeing slaves. Their real purpose was tornliberate horses, livestock, gold and silver,rnfurniture, pianos, and whatever else theyrncould cart back to the home of the free.rnThey also murdered. Missourians, ofrncourse, fought back, and they sometimesrncrossed into Kansas for a visit. Such wasrnthe situation during the winter of 1850-rn1861, on the eve of the secession crisis.rnLike the other Southern border states,rnMissouri did not secede from the unionrnin 1861, but secessionist sentiment existedrnand was increasing steadily, especiallyrnafter the firing on Fort Sumter. WhenrnPresident Lincoln called for volunteers tornsuppress the “insurrection” in the South,rnMissouri’s governor, Claiborne Fox Jackson,rnindignantly refused. He wired thernPresident: “Your requisition is illegal, unconstitutional,rnrevolutionary, inhuman,rndiabolical, and can not be compliedrnwith.” Lincoln’s response was to deposernthe legitimate state government by forcernand to invade and occupy the state withrnthousands of federal hoops. The governorrnand the state legislature had to fleernthe capital of Jefferson Cit)’ to avoid arrestrnby federalized German militia from St.rnLouis who were being transported up thernMissouri River by gunboats. Gen. SterlingrnPrice, Missouri’s former governorrnand a Mexican War hero, took commandrnof the State Guard and inflicted tworncrushing defeats on federal forces in thernsummer of 1861, but the combination ofrna federal military buildup and a lack ofrnsupport from Richmond forced him tornwithdraw into Arkansas in early 1862.rnMissouri’s Southern rural populationrnnow found themselves behind enemyrnlines in their own homes. If they wantedrnto fight—and most did —they had twornchoices: They could try to get to Arkansasrnto join Price, whose forces were now partrnof the regular Confederate army, or theyrncould take to the bush and begin a guerrillarnwar. Because it afforded them thernchance to provide at least some protectionrnto their lands, houses, and family,rnmany chose the latter course. Their exploitsrnbecame infamous to some, legendar)’rnto others.rnMissourians are fortimate to have twornfine films that tell part of the story of ourrnstate during this period. The Outlawrn]osey Wales, starring and directed byrnClint Eastwood, tells the story of a Missourirnfarmer turned Confederate guerrilla.rnThe bulk of the film covers the immediaternaftermath of the war. Alonern50/CHRONICLESrnrnrn