[leothekim]

The reason why people learn to play jazz is because of how it compels you to improvise. Even though the standards are the same, every performance is different. It is technically very challenging to play something off the cuff that not only sounds good, but does not sound derivative, expresses your individuality within a collective rhythmic and harmonic and melodic setting, and is also commercially viable. No other modern music exercises this creative muscle so rigorously, and it's a skill that carries to other genres.