In the Moment traces the rise of such 1980s stars as Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Anthony Davis, David Murray, Bobby McFerrin, Stanley Jordan, and Billy Bang, while assessing the continuing influence of such father figures as Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, George Russell, John Lewis, and Roscoe Mitchell. In the process Francis Davis discusses the low visibility of jazz in the media, the uneasy relationship of jazz to pop, and the surprising emergence of the composer as the pivotal figure in what has always been regarded as the improviser's realm. Now updated with a new introduction, In the Moment is a superb companion to some of the best music and musicians of an eventful decade.