LATEST ADDITIONS

The essence of jazz is supposed to be the free-flowing exploration of ideas and expressions. Yet hardcore fans of the music have the unnerving habit of supporting and denigrating the work of the same player from record to record. Artistic growth is often seen as a negative. Even devoted fans might not follow an artist who veers off into a stylistic direction they abhor. The classic example is Miles Davis, who went through several artistic reinventions during his long career. Many of those who love Kind of Blue recoil from Dark Magus, On the Corner, or You're Under Arrest. So-called fusion—adding influences from rock and/or funk—is most often the villain in these judgments.

After starting out as a hard-bop devotee in the early 1960s, with such classic Blue Note sessions as Page One, Our Thing, and Inner Urge, Joe Henderson grew curious about funk, about adding it to his jazz mix. In 1973, on Orrin Keepnews's Milestone label (now owned by the Concord Music Group), Henderson cut Multiple, one of the highlights of his discography.

Styled as "cowpunk" by many, the album caught the ear of pub-rocker Dave Edmunds, who produced the band's next, rockier album, Angel with a Lariat. That album, in turn, found its way to Patsy Cline's one-time producer Owen Bradley, who in 1988 produced lang's solo debut, Shadowland, on Sire Records. Shadowland and the Reclines' final album, 1989's Absolute Torch and Twang, convinced lang that she was too adventurous—not to mention too gay and Canadian—for the 1980s country music establishment.