Paul Motian, 80, Jazz Drummer And Composer

“[One] of the most influential jazz musicians of the past 50 years,” he was a key member of the legendary combos of Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett. “But it was in the second half of his life that Mr. Motian found himself as a composer and bandleader, with work that could be counterintuitive or straightforward, runic or crowd-pleasing.”