A solid article in the Denver Post on the increasing and increasingly-questionable role of technology in musical recording: “When MTV debuted two decades ago, the movement accelerated toward signing artists based not on vocal ability but on how appealing they would be on video. Vocals were put through the technology wringer from that point on.”

The article focuses mainly on pop, but the effects of high tech have even made their way to the staid world of classical music – producers regularly fix instrumental soloists’ cracked or out of tune notes. Live performances, then, are forced to match the nearly impossible ‘note perfect’ recorded standard. Increasingly, performers are forced to focus less on making music and more on just cleanly hitting all the notes.

That’s why I love playing jazz. Because if I screwed up, I meant to crack that note – it’s you’re fault you weren’t hep enough to dig it.